Former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on Tuesday called on Donald Trump’s rivals to drop out, saying Republican voters in Iowa sent the party a strong message about who they want to lead them in the 2024 election.
Trump on Monday won over 50% of the vote in the Iowa caucuses, the first-in-the-nation nominating contest, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came in second, closely followed by former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
But Ramaswamy told Fox News’ “Jesse Waters Primetime,” he thinks it’s already time for the GOP to unite behind the front-runner.
“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,” he said. “We need to win.”
Ramaswamy announced he was withdrawing his candidacy after coming fourth in Iowa with under 8% of the vote and endorsed Trump. The Ohio businessman also campaigned with Trump in New Hampshire Tuesday, ahead of the state’s primary next week.
Polls show Trump in the lead in the Granite State with Haley trailing him by nearly 13 percentage points, according to an average of polls compiled by FiveThirtyEight.
Haley said she would not participate in any further GOP primary debates unless Trump joined, prompting ABC News to cancel Thursday’s event. DeSantis earlier said he was prepared to debate “two empty podiums,” while Trump ignored both of them.
Meanwhile, the field narrowed further down on Tuesday after former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, one of Trump’s fiercest critics in the race, ended his long-shot bid for the White House.
“My message of being a principled Republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front runner did not sell in lowa,” Hutchinson said in a statement. “I stand by the campaign I ran.”
Many Republican lawmakers appear to be resigned to the prospect of Trump getting the GOP presidential nomination and are ignoring his opponents, despite the many legal challenges facing the former president.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) urged her party to fall behind Trump “with the sole focus of DEFEATING Joe Biden” in November.
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