COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA—Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy warned Iowa voters Thursday against falling for the “trap” of making Donald Trump the GOP nominee.
Ramaswamy is currently polling at 5.9% in Iowa behind the former president, who is at 51.3% in the key state, according to RealClear Politics. The business mogul, who has regularly come out in defense of Trump, asked voters to do a “counterintuitive thing” and cast their vote for him instead of the former president to avoid falling for a”trap” during a campaign stop in Council Bluffs. (RELATED: ‘He’s Proved Himself’: Iowa Voters Tout Trump’s White House Experience Ahead Of Cedar Rapids Speech)
“So I’m asking you to do, even though many of you would have thought of supporting Trump on Jan. 15, I’m asking you do a counterintuitive thing because the game they’re pulling on us is counterintuitive,” Ramaswamy said. “They’re selling you the rope today that they will use to hang us tomorrow. Do not fall for their trap. You have right here an America First candidate, who will take that movement further with fresh legs. And this time at least, they’re not going to stop me and I understand the law of the Constitution.”
Former US President and 2024 presidential hopeful Donald Trump applauds at the end of a campaign event in Waterloo, Iowa, on December 19, 2023. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Vivek also said that though “we love Donald Trump,” voters should “pick a commander in chief” who is not “wounded.”
“It’d be a lot easier for me to step aside, let Trump do the job,” Ramaswamy told Iowans. “They’re not going to let him get anywhere near. The America First movement does not belong to one man, it doesn’t belong to Donald Trump, it doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to you, the people of this country.”
Trump reposted an article Tuesday discussing Ramaswamy’s campaign canceling its advertisements in Iowa and New Hampshire ahead of the caucuses and predicted on Truth Social that his opponent will likely endorse him for president. Ramaswamy has said in the past that he would refuse an offer to be Trump’s running mate.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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