Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has dropped out of the 2024 presidential race after a fourth-place finish in the Republican Iowa caucuses, widely considered an indicator of the road ahead.
"There is no path for me to be the next president," said the biotech entrepreneur, announcing his support for former president Donald Trump, whose landslide victory in the Iowa caucus re-established him as the Republican frontrunner.
The Iowa caucus, the first vote in the US presidential race, is a major election test for candidates. Vivek Ramaswamy failed to make a mark as he finished last, after the twice-impeached former president as well as rivals Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley.
"I looked at every which way, and I think it's true that we did not achieve the surprise that we wanted to deliver tonight... As of this moment, we are going to suspend this presidential campaign," he told reporters in Iowa as the results of the caucus came in.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Ramaswamy, 38, said while he "did not achieve the goal tonight", he will do everything to make sure Trump is the next US president.
"This entire campaign is about speaking the TRUTH. We did not achieve our goal tonight, & we need an America-First patriot in the White House. The people spoke loud & clear about who they want. Tonight I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Donald J. Trump and will do everything I can to make sure he is the next U.S. President," he wrote.
Throughout his self-funded campaign, Ramaswamy had been one of Trump's staunchest defenders and even vowed to pardon Trump of all charges he had been indicted with on his first day in office.
He appeared alongside the former president at his rally in New Hampshire as the two shook hands and waved to crowds. "Not going to hold back, now through the finish line," Ramaswamy said in a post on X, sharing a video of the two on stage.
While initially his campaign stated that they were still "digesting" the Iowa results, the entrepreneur took to social media to reassure his supporters that this was not the "end of the road".
"Don't despair, this isn't the end of the road. It's the beginning of a new one. We have a country to save and we will do it together," he wrote in another post.
