Indian-American Ramaswamy may run on joint ticket with Trump: Report

Washington, Aug 26: Indian-American presidential aspirant Vivek Ramaswamy has hinted at running on a joint ticket with Republican rival and former US President Donald Trump if he fails to secure the party’s nomination for the 2024 race to the White House, a media report said.

Ramaswamy, the political outsider, addressed his first Republican presidential primary debate on Wednesday where rivals — former New Jersey Governor Chris Christies, former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley — gave him a tough fight The Telegraph reported.

Post debate, a confident Ramaswamy told reporters that only two candidates would be left in the race, which would be him and Trump.

When asked on GB News whether he would be “happy to be (Trump’s) VP”, Ramaswamy said: “See, this isn’t about me. If this were about me, sure. That’s a fine position for someone to have at my age.

“This is about reviving our country and I can only reunite this country if I’m doing it from the White House as the leader and the face of our movement.”

Ramaswamy added that he had “fresh legs” and was “almost half (Trump’s] age”, but would ask him to serve as “my most valued adviser” in the White House.

The 38-year-old entrepreneur did not rule out the possibility of teaming with Trump if the latter secured nomination for a third time, which stood in stark contrast to his earlier stance on being interested only in the presidency.

According to the Telegraph report, rumours of a joint ticket between the two rivals for the 2024 race emerged after Trump campaign’s praise for Ramaswamy in the Republican primary debate where he came up as a breakout star.

Speaking of Ramaswamy’s Milwaukee performance, Donald Trump Jr told reporters: “I thought he had a standout performance. I mean, I think that did what Ron DeSantis needed to do.”

After launching his campaign in February this year, Ramaswamy vowed to “promptly” pardon the indicted former President if elected to the White House in 2024.

Heaping praises on the former President, Ramaswamy told The New York Post that Trump “sets a high bar”.

“He’s a friend. I know him. I genuinely believe he cares about national unity,” Ramaswamy had said.

With a worth of more than $950 million, Ramaswamy raised more than $450,000, with an average donation of $38, in the first hour after the debate.

In addition, he was the most Google-searched Republican candidate, followed by rival Nikki Haley, according to Fox News.