Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy encouraged Republican presidential candidates Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley on Tuesday to withdraw from the race in order to preserve party unity behind President Trump.
“I think Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley would actually, at this point, do this country and this party a service by stepping aside to make sure that we’re focused on not only nominating Donald Trump but getting this country back and reviving those founding revolutionary ideals,” Ramaswamy said in an interview with Fox News’s Jesse Watters.
When Watters asked if he was advocating for Haley and DeSantis to step out, Ramaswamy answered, “Yes, and I believe that would be healthy for this country.”
His remarks come just one day after he suspended his 2024 GOP presidential campaign and threw his support behind Trump following a dismal performance in Monday’s Iowa caucuses.
Ramaswamy previously expressed support for Trump while campaigning against him, so his endorsement came as no surprise. At one point, Ramaswamy encouraged the other 2024 candidates to promise to pardon the former president for federal charges related to his handling of secret papers after leaving the White House.
Ramaswamy’s long-shot quest was met with disappointing results in Iowa, where he received single-digit support. According to Decision Desk HQ, Trump won by nearly 30 percentage points, with 51 percent of the vote, followed by DeSantis (21.2 percent) and Haley (19.1 percent).
A number of political heavyweights have cited Trump’s victory in Iowa in calling on DeSantis and Haley to resign. On Tuesday, Fox News presenter Laura Ingraham stated that DeSantis had little to “gain” by continuing in the GOP primary contest and that Trump is “simply too powerful” for DeSantis to defeat.
The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board, however, issued a statement earlier Tuesday asking DeSantis to withdraw so that Haley could defeat Trump.