Vivek Ramaswamy warned Iowa voters Monday not to “walk into the other side’s trap” by throwing their vote away on Donald Trump and allowing Nikki Haley (R-SC) to “trot” into power.

Ramaswamy posted to social media: “I’ve defended Trump at every step & respect him immensely. You won’t hear me attacking him. I’m asking for your vote tonight because I believe it’s the right thing for our country. We cannot walk into the other side’s trap & watch the puppet masters quietly trot Nikki into power.”

Ramaswamy’s post was in response to an all-caps rant from Trump sent on the morning of the Iowa caucuses:

A VOTE FOR VIVEK IS A WASTED VOTE. I LIKE VIVEK, BUT HE PLAYED IT TOO “CUTE” WITH US. CAUCUS TONIGHT, VOTE FOR DONALD J. TRUMP, BUILD UP THE NUMBERS!!! IN NOVEMBER, WE MUST TAKE OUR VERY TROUBLED NATION — A NATION IN DECLINE — BACK FROM CROOKED JOE BIDEN AND THE RADICAL LEFT DEMOCRATS AND THUGS WHO ARE DESTROYING IT. MAGA!!!

Trump has now done a complete about-face on Ramaswamy after the two appeared to have a cordial relationship. On Saturday, Trump posted to his Truth Social account, “Vivek started his campaign as a great supporter, ‘the best President in generations,’ etc. Unfortunately, now all he does is disguise his support in the form of deceitful campaign tricks.”

Ramaswamy has fashioned himself as the future of the MAGA movement, postulating that Trump’s enemies will stop at nothing to keep the former president out of the White House in 2024.

Over the weekend, Ramaswamy told The Hill, “I respect the hell out of Trump. He’s the best President of the 21st century. I’ve defended him at every step against the unjust persecutions. But OPEN YOUR EYES to the hard TRUTH: this system will stop at nothing to keep this man away from the White House. Just because it’s wrong doesn’t mean it won’t happen & we owe it to our nation to take America-First forward.”

Trump’s senior campaign advisor Chris LaCivita scoffed at the notion of Ramaswamy being the MAGA heir apparent, calling the entrepreneur a “FRAUD.” LaCivita retweeted a photo of Ramaswamy with supporters wearing “Save Trump Vote Vivek” T-shirts, writing “Trump doesnt [sic] need ‘saving,’ and “If you support @realDonaldTrump you sure as hell dont [sic] vote for this FAKE.”

Ramaswamy has supported Trump’s greatest hits of conspiracy theories, including that the 2020 election was “stolen” and that the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol was “an inside job” perpetrated by the FBI.

The post Vivek Ramaswamy Calls Voting For Trump a ‘Trap’ in Final Hours Before Iowa Caucus first appeared on Mediaite.

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