Former President Donald Trump landed a historic victory Monday evening during the country’s first 2024 presidential primary in Iowa, a win that renewed talk of who he is considering as a running mate.
On Monday evening, as the ballots were being tallied, some supporters of the former president said they would like to see him select business entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who dropped out of the ’24 race following his distant finish behind most of the field.
But Trump aide Jason Miller told the New York Post that supporters who favor Ramaswamy could “probably” rule him out a day after Trump unleashed a verbal attack on his now-former competitor.
The former president accused Ramaswamy of being “sly,” having “deceitful campaign tricks,” and not being MAGA during a blistering attack on Saturday on Truth Social.
“Pretty safe to say it won’t be Vivek,” Miller told The Post.
The biotech mogul has previously said he is not a “plan B person,” while Trump said in August that Ramaswamy could be a “very good” vice president, The Post added.
Last week during a Fox News-moderated town hall event, Trump announced he had made his VP choice but has decided not to make it public yet.
Meanwhile, Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who herself has been mentioned as a potential Trump running mate, said after his big win in Iowa that all remaining GOP candidates should drop out now and get behind him.
It is a “massive waste of money, massive waste of resources” to continue running when they don’t appear to have much of a chance at winning the GOP nomination at this point, she told reporters in the Hawkeye State Monday, the Washington Examiner reported.
“Don’t forget that it is an industry, and there’s a lot of consultants, and that’s how they make their money. They make their money by talking candidates into running and keeping candidates in races long when they should have dropped out. Talk about a psychological manipulation; political consultants are some of the best at it. And that’s how they make a living every campaign cycle,” she told the outlet.
She also hit Vivek Ramaswamy as a “Trump copycat who’s manipulating people, saying if you want to save Trump, vote for me. I mean, what kind of psychological insanity is that? That’s a major turnoff.”
A video of Trump rocketed across the internet and social media platforms Monday evening as votes were beginning to be tallied following the nation’s first GOP primary in Iowa.
In it, Trump can be seen walking down a set of stairs before coming up towards a camera and addressing reporters who were gathered.
“Great night and fantastic place,” Trump said about Iowa. “We’ve won it twice, as you know, the last two elections, and I think we’re gonna have a fantastic night tonight.
“The people are fantastic, and I’ve never seen spirit like they have — countrywide, but in Iowa, I’ve never seen spirit like this, thank you,” Trump said, turning away from the camera as reporters shouted questions at him.
Trump went on to win the Iowa caucus with more than 51% of the vote, ahead of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis with about 21.2 percent and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley with 19.1 percent.
Trump addressed his two closest rivals’ performances after the race was called.
“I really think this is time now for everybody to come together, whether it is Republican or Democrat or liberal or conservative. It would be so nice if we could come together and straighten out the world and straighten out the problems and all of the death and destruction that we’re witnessing that has practically never been seen,” he said. “I want to make that a big part of our message. We’re going to come together.”
