Ramaswamy ends 2024 campaign by quickly becoming Trump surrogate: 'Lead us to victory'

When Vivek Ramaswamy took the stage in Atkinson, New Hampshire, on Tuesday just one day after ending his presidential campaign, he gave a passionate speech.

It was the same speech, in fact, Ramaswamy had given on the trail multiple times when pitching himself to voters, but with one exception: He replaced the references to himself with references to Donald Trump.

In less than 24 hours, Ramaswamy, a biotech businessman and conservative commentator who campaigned as the most Trump-friendly, «America first» alternative in the GOP field, dropped out of the 2024 race and endorsed his former opponent.

In New Hampshire, he appeared alongside the man who — as recently as Saturday — had accused him of «deceitful campaign tricks» and not being «MAGA.»

But there was little bad blood to be seen between them on Tuesday.

«We are in the middle of a war in this country,» Ramaswamy said, portraying a country divided between «those of us who love the United States of America and a fringe minority who hates this country and what we stand for.»

«And right now we need a commander in chief who will lead us to victory,» he said.

The former president soon returned the favor.

«I've been a friend of his even though we were competing against each other,» Trump said. «But I was a friend of his and we got along and… 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.»

The end of Ramaswamy's campaign marked the beginning of his next chapter: as a vocal Trump campaign surrogate.

«He's going to be working with us for a long time,» Trump said Tuesday after some in the crowd chanted «VP, VP, VP.»

For a while, at least, it looked like Ramaswamy was gaining some