Former President Trump publicly attacked fellow presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy for the first time just days before the Iowa Caucuses. A "fraud" who stands in opposition to the MAGA movement, Trump and his campaign said in their effort to vilify Ramaswamy.
Although he frequently attacked other Republican opponents, Ramaswamy was a Trump supporter. In a post published on the Truth Social website, Trump blasted Ramaswamy, as The Blaze reported.
"Vivek started his campaign as a great supporter, ‘the best President in generations,’ etc,” Trump said on Saturday night. “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," Trump ranted. "The Biden Indictments against his Political Opponent will never be allowed in this Country, they are already beginning to fall! MAGA!!!”
In the early hours of the day, Ramaswamy shared a photograph on social media that featured him alongside six fans who were wearing t-shirts that bore the message "Save Trump, Vote Vivek."
Chris LaCivita, who is a top campaign strategist for Donald Trump, made a remark on Ramaswamy's photo and emphasized that "Trump doesn't need 'saving.'"
Additionally, LaCivita referred to Vivek's campaign as a "fraud," and he remarked, "If you support Donald Trump you sure as hell don't vote for this FAKE."
In response to the criticisms directed at him by Trump, Ramaswamy made a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, calling the attack "unfortunate," but he refrained from taking direct aim at the former president.
"It’s an unfortunate move by his campaign advisors, I don’t think friendly fire is helpful," Ramaswamy began. "Donald Trump was the greatest President of the 21st century, and I’m not going to criticize him in response to this late attack."
According to Ramaswamy, he is "worried" that "this'system' won't allow Trump to come anywhere near the White House again."
"I’ve stood up against the persecutions against Trump, and I’ve defended him at every step," he continued. "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 with 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."
Ramaswamy asserted, without elaborating, that "billionaires" are financing the legal proceedings against Trump and "trying to prop up Nikki Haley."
Additionally, he asserted that the establishment media favors a "two-horse race" between Haley and Trump, but will "eliminate Trump (one way or other)" prior to the 2024 presidential election in order to secure Haley's victory.
He also said that the mainstream media desires a "two-horse race" between Trump and Haley, but will "eliminate Trump (one way or other)" before the 2024 election so Haley can become president.
"Our movement must live on. America-First didn’t start in 2016. It started in 1776," Ramaswamy concluded. "We owe it to our Founding Fathers to do the right thing for our country. I want to save Trump and to save this country. Let’s do it together. You won’t hear any friendly fire from me."
