Former psident Donald Trump attacked Vivek Ramaswamy, who is most closely aligned with him in the race for the Republican nomination, accusing the wealthy entrepreneur of engaging in “deceitful campaign tricks.”
“A vote for Vivek is a vote for the ‘other side’ — don’t get duped by this,” Trump said on social media, adding that “Vivek is not MAGA.”
An hour earlier, a senior adviser for Trump, Chris LaCivita, also attacked Ramaswamy on social media as a “fraud” in response to a photo showing supporters of Ramaswamy wearing shirts displaying Trump’s mug shot that said “Save Trump, vote Vivek.”
The attacks from Trump and one of his top aides in quick succession suggest that the Trump campaign has deliberately shifted toward attacking Ramaswamy in the final days before Monday’s Iowa caucuses.
In a video posted to social media that appeared to be an indirect response to the attacks, Ramaswamy offered effusive praise for Trump, though he argued in conspiratorial terms that “the system” would keep Trump out of the White House and instead elect former governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina, whom Ramaswamy called a “puppet.”
Ramaswamy, who ostensibly is running against Trump despite having been the former president’s most enthusiastic defender on the campaign trail, has long been in a peculiar entente with the primary’s front-runner. Though Trump has gleefully mocked his opponents in the race on social media, he has held his fire against Ramaswamy and even praised him as a loyal supporter.
The change in strategy from Trump may reflect a calculation from his campaign that Ramaswamy, who is in a distant fourth place in the polls in Iowa, is taking some support — however small — from his campaign. Trump is hoping for an overpowering win in Iowa to shut out his strongest competitors and demonstrate that he has already all but secured the nomination.
“A vote for Vivek is a vote for the ‘other side’ — don’t get duped by this,” Trump said on social media, adding that “Vivek is not MAGA.”
An hour earlier, a senior adviser for Trump, Chris LaCivita, also attacked Ramaswamy on social media as a “fraud” in response to a photo showing supporters of Ramaswamy wearing shirts displaying Trump’s mug shot that said “Save Trump, vote Vivek.”
The attacks from Trump and one of his top aides in quick succession suggest that the Trump campaign has deliberately shifted toward attacking Ramaswamy in the final days before Monday’s Iowa caucuses.
In a video posted to social media that appeared to be an indirect response to the attacks, Ramaswamy offered effusive praise for Trump, though he argued in conspiratorial terms that “the system” would keep Trump out of the White House and instead elect former governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina, whom Ramaswamy called a “puppet.”
Ramaswamy, who ostensibly is running against Trump despite having been the former president’s most enthusiastic defender on the campaign trail, has long been in a peculiar entente with the primary’s front-runner. Though Trump has gleefully mocked his opponents in the race on social media, he has held his fire against Ramaswamy and even praised him as a loyal supporter.
The change in strategy from Trump may reflect a calculation from his campaign that Ramaswamy, who is in a distant fourth place in the polls in Iowa, is taking some support — however small — from his campaign. Trump is hoping for an overpowering win in Iowa to shut out his strongest competitors and demonstrate that he has already all but secured the nomination.
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