(NewsNation) — Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has dropped out of the 2024 race and endorsed former President Donald Trump.
Ramaswamy’s exit comes after Trump was determined the projected winner of the Iowa Republican caucus.
In what ended up being one of his last interviews as a presidential candidate Monday afternoon, Ramaswamy told “The Hill on NewsNation” moderator Blake Burman, “I think I’m going to be the nominee.”
Ramaswamy expected to outperform in the Iowa caucus and figured it “would change the dynamics” of the race. But after receiving disappointing results in the Iowa caucus, the entrepreneur suspended his campaign.
Decision Desk HQ called the race for Trump at 8:46 p.m. ET. Decision Desk HQ projects that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will finish second in the Republican Iowa caucus. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is projected to finish third.
Ramaswamy said he called Trump on Monday night to congratulate him on his Iowa victory.
“Now, going forward, he will have my full endorsement for the presidency. And I think we’re going to do the right thing for this country. And so I’m going to ask you, to follow me in taking our America First movement to the next level,” Ramaswamy told supporters.
Ramaswamy launched his long-shot bid for the White House in February of last year. At 38 years old, he was the youngest candidate in the once-crowded GOP field. He built his campaign around wanting to “revive” a “missing national identity.”
The Cincinnati native graduated from Harvard and later Yale Law School. In 2014, he started the biotech company Roivant Sciences, a publicly traded company worth more than $7 billion. He also co-founded the investment firm Strive Asset Management.
This is a breaking news story. Refresh for updates.
NewsNation digital content producer Tyler Wornell contributed to this report.