Trump world revels over Ramaswamy’s polling surge

Some allies of Donald Trump appear giddy over GOP foe Vivek Ramaswamy’s recent uptick in the polls — because it means the entrepreneur is gaining on the former president’s hated key rival Ron DeSantis.

Ramaswamy, who is now clocking in at 5.9 percentage points in the key RealClearPolitics aggregate, toppled former Vice President Mike Pence at 5.7 points to take over a distant third place among Republican hopefuls behind Florida Gov. DeSantis at 19.3 and Trump at a commanding 51 points.

And unlike many of Trump’s rivals who often face the wrath of his supporters, the 37-year-old Ramaswamy’s rise appears to be getting a somewhat warm reception — at least for now.

A multitude of Trump allies have latched onto Ramaswamy as a cudgel against DeSantis, with whom they have chaffed bitterly.

“Vivek is surging to 2nd place DeSantis is imploding into single digits President Trump remains the dominant frontrunner, and the only candidate the Deep State continues to attack,” MAGA Inc. spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt tweeted.

The MAGA War Room, affiliated with MAGA Inc., wrote, “Congratulations to Vivek Ramaswamy on the second place result in a recent poll. It turns out respecting the Republican base pays off. Ron DeSantis could learn a lot from Ramaswamy’s campaign.”

Longtime Trump adviser Jason Miller shared on Twitter along with a link to a related story, “Donald Trump would BEAT Joe Biden in presidential election if it were held now, in poll which also shows Vivek Ramaswamy on verge of overtaking DeSantis.”

Adam Veinotte, a strategist who previously worked on Trump campaigns, added, “Haha, even Vivek’s people are calling out the ridiculous excuses for terrible polling numbers from Team DeShambles. They literally think every poll is paid for by Trump. Team Ramaswamy is knocking at Ron’s door. #Trump2024.”

Trump has also taken note of the slow rise of Ramaswamy, who has sought to capture the same vibe of political outsider and anti-establishment that Trump championed in 2016.

“I think Vivek has done a very good job, frankly. I think some others have done a good job,” Trump said in a recent “Sunday Morning Futures” interview on Fox News. 

“I think you have good potential Cabinet members, too,” the former president said.

In May, Trump heaped praise on Ramaswamy for making inroads in some polling.

“I am pleased to see that Vivek Ramaswamy is doing so well in the most recent Republican Primary Poll, CBS YouGov. He is tied with Mike Pence, and seems to be on his way to catching Ron DeSanctimonious,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“The thing I like about Vivek is that he only has good things to say about ‘President Trump,’ and all that the Trump Administration has so successfully done. This is the reason he is doing so well,” the ex-commander in chief said.

So far, Ramaswamy has largely steered clear of criticizing Trump too harshly in the public domain.