WASHINGTON: The multimillionaire biotech CEO Vivek Ramaswamy withdrew his endorsement of Donald Trump on Monday, ending his run for the presidency. Ramaswamy’s longshot bid was not given enough attention in Iowa, the Republican Party’s first primary. “Without things that we don’t want to see happen in this country, there is no way for me to be President. “I am deeply concerned about this nation,” Ramaswamy declared to his followers in Des Moines. “Will have my full endorsement for the presidency,” he continued. Ramaswamy, 38, was one of the shocks in the former president Trump-dominated 2024 Republican field. He was born in Ohio to immigrant parents from southern India. Thanks to his aggressive campaigning, large bank account, and youthful charm, the ardent Trump fan most definitely earned a place in Republican politics down the road. In the last days leading up to the Iowa caucus, Trump turned against him, calling him a “fraud” and asserting that supporting Ramaswamy meant supporting the “other side.” But Trump softened his tone toward Ramaswamy in his victory address, saying, “I also want to congratulate Vivek, because he did a hell of a job.”
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Ramaswamy received about 7.7% of the vote in the Iowa caucuses, according to preliminary statistics obtained by Reuters. The 2021 hit “Woke, Inc.” by Harvard-educated Ramaswamy made him famous in right-wing circles by criticizing the social justice and climate change initiatives of large corporations. While his media attention and debate performances brought him attention, other voters were turned off by them. His numbers in national opinion polls with probable Republican primary voters by the end of 2023 were in the low single digits.
