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President Donald Trump made it clear on Monday that while businessman Vivek Ramaswamy has been playing it “CUTE” with MAGA voters, caucusing for the political newcomer would ultimately be a waste in the important Iowa caucuses.
In a statement posted on Truth Social, Trump shared, “A VOTE FOR VIVEK IS A WASTED VOTE. I LIKE VIVEK, BUT HE PLAYED IT TOO ‘CUTE’ WITH US. CAUCUS TONIGHT, VOTE FOR DONALD J. TRUMP, BUILD UP THE NUMBERS!!!”
Ramaswamy has built the majority of his support up over the past year by remaining MAGA-friendly and allying himself with the policies that made President Donald Trump successful.
However, in a last-minute play in the state of Iowa, Ramaswamy posted a photo of himself with a group of young men in Iowa wearing shirts that said, “SAVE TRUMP[,] VOTE VIVEK.”
The campaign messaging drew the ire of Trump supporters online, who have seen Ramaswamy’s “clear message” from X as a sign of disloyalty to MAGA in a time where remaining united in the GOP primary has become a priority to most.
President Trump also initially responded to Ramaswamy’s political stunt last week, writing succinctly, “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!”
The president warned that Vivek was “not MAGA” and urged Iowans to move powerfully on Monday to take back America from “CROOKED JOE BIDEN AND THE RADICAL LEFT DEMOCRATS AND THUGS WHO ARE DESTROYING IT.”
In Iowa, President Trump is holding a historically high lead of 28 points over runner-up and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, according to the Des Moines Register. Ramaswamy is 40 points behind Trump in their poll.
