- Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on Monday criticized the media for removing him from their Iowa caucus coverage
- Ramaswamy pointed to a Fox News and Associated Press poll that included only the top three candidates
- Former President Donald Trump, former UN Ambassador. Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have been voting for Ramaswamy in Iowa for months
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy ripped into the media ahead of Monday night’s caucuses in Iowa for erasing him from the race.
In a message on X, Ramaswamy shared a Fox News/Associated Press poll that allowed respondents to choose only three Republican candidates: former President Donald Trump, former U.N. ambassador. Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Ramaswamy’s spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin also called out The New York Times for including only Trump, Haley and DeSantis on the Iowa caucus landing page.
When web users clicked to see a full list of candidates, Ramaswamy’s name appeared there.
“SET,” Ramaswamy wrote late Monday afternoon. “Fox & AP just sent out a broad poll on ‘voter attitudes’ on the eve of the caucus, which they will report on TV right before the Iowa caucus. One candidate remains off the list.’
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy poses with attendees at a campaign event in Urbandale, Iowa, on Monday. On social media ahead of the Iowa caucuses, Ramaswamy blasted news organizations for removing him from their caucus coverage
Ramaswamy posted an Associated Press and Fox News poll on X Monday that gave respondents just three choices: former President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former UN official. Nikki Haley
“Stick to the media and shock the world tonight at the Iowa caucus,” Ramaswamy encouraged his Hawkeye State supporters.
One candidate who paid attention to Ramaswamy, a 38-year-old tech entrepreneur and best-selling author, was Trump.
In all caps on Truth Social, the ex-president told his faithful not to vote for Ramaswamy, who is entering the race as a Trump ally but with a younger face.
‘A VOTE FOR VIVEK IS A WASTED VOTE. I love VIVEK, but he played it too ‘cute’ with us,” Trump wrote Monday morning.
‘CAUCUS TONIGHT, VOTE FOR DONALD J. TRUMP, BUILD THE NUMBERS!!! IN NOVEMBER WE MUST TAKE BACK OUR HIGHLY TRUSTED NATION – A NATION IN AWAY – FROM COOKED JOE BIDEN AND THE RADICAL LEFT DEMOCRATS AND CRIMES WHO DESTROY IT. MAGA!!!’ the ex-president added.
Last weekend he also told supporters: ‘Vivek is not a MAGA.’
Ramaswamy’s spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin also said that The New York Times kept Ramaswamy off the paper’s Iowa caucus results page. Ramaswamy is not mentioned on the landing page, but does appear when users ‘view all candidates’
“A vote for Vivek is a vote for the ‘other side’ – don’t be fooled by that,” Trump warned.
Although Ramaswamy has crossed Iowa, including during the two snowstorms in the week leading up to the caucuses, he remains stuck in the numbers.
Because he was below 10 percent in the polls, he was also not allowed to participate in CNN’s debate in Iowa, which was held in Des Moines on Wednesday evening.
Because Trump skipped all Republican primaries, DeSantis and Haley were the only participants.