Former President Donald Trump praised Republican primary rival Vivek Ramaswamy on Truth Social after Ramaswamy decided to stop spending money on television commercials in Iowa and New Hampshire. Trump expressed confidence that Ramaswamy would eventually endorse him, describing him as a good man who is “not done yet.”
Although Ramaswamy is officially a candidate running against Trump in the Republican primary, he has been perceived by many as a Trump surrogate. Trump previously commended Ramaswamy as the winner of a GOP primary debate that Trump chose to skip.
Ramaswamy gained attention when, in response to the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to bar Trump from the state’s ballot, he released a video calling on all Republican presidential candidates to withdraw from the ballot in solidarity with Trump.
“Birdbrain looked different & lost, but I give her second place,” wrote Trump in reference to Nikki Haley. “Vivek WINS because he thinks I’m great.”
In his defense of halting television commercial spending in Iowa and New Hampshire, Ramaswamy criticized such ads as a “trick that political consultants use to bamboozle candidates who suffer from low IQ.” He emphasized that his campaign is taking a different approach, focusing on data-driven strategies, and teased a “big surprise” coming on January 15.
