Day after dropping out of prez race, Ramaswamy joins Trump amid 'VP, VP' chants

A day after dropping out of the presidential race, Vivek Ramaswamy joined Donald Trump on the stage in New Hampshire on Tuesday (Jan 16). The former president welcomed Ramaswamy and said they both were on good terms, despite competing for the same prize.

The duo was sharing the stageat the Atkinson Resort and Country Club in Atkinson, New Hampshire.

“Last night, I was honoured to receive the endorsement of a man who has become a true leader and earned the admiration of so many patriots. I've been a friend of his, even though we were competing against each other, and we got along," said Trump.

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"And he was saying, he's a great president. I kept saying, why is he running? He keeps calling me a great president, but he's a fantastic guy, a very smart guy. He's got some tremendous ideas and he's young, and he's got some young ideas, too, and that's a good thing. So he has a big, beautiful, bright future ahead – Vivek Ramaswamy."

After Trump's welcome speech, Ramaswamy took to the stage and said this was not a war between "black and white".

“That's what this is. It's not a war between black and white. It's not between Democrats and Republicans, even in a deeper sense. It's between the permanent state and the everyday citizen, between those of us who love the United States of America and a fringe minority who hates this country and what we stand for," he said.

“And right now, we need a commander-in-chief who will lead us to victory in this war. That's what we need in this country."

After Ramaswamy was done speaking, the crowd started chanting "VP, VP, VP" while he and Trump hugged each other.

Ramaswamy quits the race

The 38-year-old had made waves after joining the race as a relatively unknown face in February 2023. He quickly gained prominence among first-time and young voters by aligning his campaign to that of former president Donald Trump.

However, after he finished fourth in the Iowa caucuses, Ramaswamy immediately announced his departure from the prez nomination race.

"It is true that we did not achieve the surprise that we wanted to deliver tonight. As of this moment, we are going to suspend this presidential campaign," Ramaswamy told his supporters.

Ramaswamy called Trump to congratulate him on his victory and endorsed his candidature as well.

"There needs to be an America First candidate in this race.Going forward, he will have my full endorsement for the presidency," Ramaswamy said.

Notably, a couple of days prior to the Iowa caucuses, Trump, for the first time on the campaign trail, attacked Ramaswamy by calling him a fraud. Two days later, both leaders are seemingly charting plans on how the future cabinet might look.

(With inputs from agencies)