In what seems like a shift in strategy, former US President Donald Trump just two days ahead of the Iowa caucuses has started to criticise fellow Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Up until this point, the Republican presidential candidate and Donald Trump have appeared to maintain a friendly relationship on the campaign trail.
On Sunday, Donald Trump, in a post on Truth Social, claimed that Vivek Ramaswamy is a threat to his Make America Great Again movement.
Calling himself "the best president in generations", the 45th US President urged all Iowans to not "get duped".
Donald Trump wrote, "Vivek started his campaign as a great supporter, "the best President in generations," etc. Unfortunately, now all he does is disguise his support in the form of deceitful campaign tricks. Very sly, but a vote for Vivek is a vote for the "other side" - don't get duped by this. Vote for "TRUMP," don't waste your vote! Vivek is not MAGA. The Biden Indictments against his Political Opponent will never be allowed in this Country, they are already beginning to fall! MAGA!!!"
An American political slogan and movement, Make America Great Again (MAGA) was popularised by Mr Trump during his successful 2016 presidential campaign. This slogan is used to refer to his political base.
In another post on X (formerly Twitter), senior advisor to Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, Chris LaCivita labelled Vivek Ramaswamy as "fake" and urged Iowans to "beware" as "he is a vegetarian."
So far, the Indian-American presidential hopeful has refrained from criticising Donald Trump. In fact, Mr Ramaswamy's campaign is also handing out shirts, which include text that read, 'Save Trump, Vote Vivek'.
Donald Trump's criticism stems from this shirt campaign. Pointing out the same, the former President claimed that Vivek Ramaswamy is engaging in “deceitful campaign tricks".
Vivek Ramaswamy Responds
Now, in response to Mr Trump's accusations, Vivek Ramaswamy has penned a detailed note on X (formerly Twitter), on Sunday.
He wrote, “Yes, I saw President Trump's Truth Social post. It's an unfortunate move by his campaign advisors, I don't think friendly fire is helpful. Donald Trump was the greatest President of the 21st century, and I'm not going to criticize him in response to this late attack. I've met tens of thousands of Iowans across 390+ events here, and they are deeply worried - and so am I - that this “system” won't allow Donald J. Trump anywhere near the White House again. It seems they will stop at *nothing* to keep him away from power.”
Vivek Ramaswamy continued, “I'm worried for Trump. I'm worried for our country. I've stood up against the persecution against Trump, and I've defended him at every step. I showed up at the Miami courthouse in solidarity following his first federal indictment. I filed a FOIA demand to the Biden DOJ. I submitted an amicus brief this week to the U.S. Supreme Court calling on them to overturn Colorado's ruling. I pledged to remove myself from Maine's & Colorado's primary ballots if they remove Trump, calling on DeSantis and Haley to do the same.”
Take a look at the complete post here:
On Monday, Iowans will cast the first votes in the 2024 presidential nominating process.
