Indian-American entrepreneur-turned-politician Vivek Ramaswamy has urged two of the three remaining Republican hopefuls to drop out and "do this country and this party a service" by endorsing former President Donald Trump in his bid to reclaim the White House.
Following his poor showing in Monday's Iowa caucuses, the 38-year-old multimillionaire had not just backed out but also backed its winner Trump.
Trump, who is the current frontrunner, won 51 percent of the votes cast in Monday's Iowa caucuses. While Florida governor Ron DeSantis came a distant second with 21 percent, former South Carolina governor Nikky Haley received 19 percent of the votes.
"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," Mr Ramaswamy said during an interview with Fox News on Tuesday.
He went on to assert that it "would be healthy for this country" if the two competitors stepped down and endorsed the frontrunner after just one primary. "[GOP voters] sent a positive message to all of us that Donald Trump needs to be the nominee of this party, and I think Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley would actually at this point do this country and this party a service by stepping aside," the former candidate was quoted as saying by FoxNews.com on Wednesday.
Ramaswamy specifically shouted out DeSantis as he said: "Especially Ron DeSantis, of the two of them, will have an important role to play in the future of this country and leading this nation. I believe that."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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