Indian-origin businessman and politician Vivek Ramaswamy on Tuesday (January 16, 2024) withdrew his candidature from the US presidential race after his disappointing show in the Iowa caucuses, that were clinched by former President Donald Trump.
Apart from withdrawing his candidature, he also endorsed Trump.
“I will stick to the truth tonight. The first hard truth and this was hard for me, I gotta admit this, but we’ve looked at it every which way. And I think it is true that we did not achieve the surprise that we wanted to deliver tonight,” he said at his campaign’s watch party in Des Moines, Iowa, as quoted by CNN.
“Earlier tonight, I called Donald Trump to tell him that I congratulate him on his victory. And now going forward, he will have my full endorsement for the presidency,” he said.
In Iowa, Ramaswamy ended his run in the fourth position with 8358 votes and 7.7% vote share.
Trump emerges victorious in Iowa
In the first vote in the US presidential race, Donald Trump emerged victorious by clinching the Iowa caucuses.
Following the victory, Trump has gained a strong start as a presumptive Republican candidate to challenge president Joe Biden in the US polls in November.
According to reports, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis finished the Iowa race in the second position with 23,400 votes and 21.2% vote share.
Following his victory, Trump, who received 56,210 votes and 51% vote share, said: “I really think this is time now for everybody, our country, to come together.”
He was quoted as saying by CNN: “We want to come together, whether it is Republican or Democrat or liberal or conservative.”
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley stood in the third position in the Iowa race. She received 21,076 votes and 19.1% vote share.