Will Vivek Ramaswamy Be Trump's VP? What Former President Has Said

In the campaign for second place that has been the Republican primary campaign for president, few candidates in the field have been more supportive of former president and current Republican frontrunner Donald Trump in his ongoing legal battles than fellow challenger Vivek Ramaswamy.

On the trail and throughout Wednesday night's Republican debate, Ramaswamy has been a loyal booster for the former president, pledging to pardon him if eventually elected to office and—if Trump is convicted—support him if Trump wins the nomination again.

His loyalty has been so steadfast that some observers have begun to question whether Ramaswamy is running for president at all, content to rise above the other candidates in a bid to become Trump's Vice President. Particularly amid a surge in the polls that has put him in contention for second place behind Trump's chief rival in the race, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

"I'm not sure if [Vivek Ramaswamy] is running for president or vice president because he has been one of Donald Trump's biggest defenders out on the campaign trail," Carlos Curbelo, a former Republican Congressman from Florida said in an NBC News interview on August 19. "So at some point Ramaswamy, if he's growing in the polls, will have to take Trump on so he has a shot at winning this thing."

Ramaswamy, despite his loyalty to the former president, has regularly downplayed such talk, telling Fox News in an interview last week he was "not interested in a different position in the government," and would rather "drive change through the private sector sooner than becoming number two or three in the federal government."

He adamantly denied similar questions by liberal commentator Bill Maher earlier this summer, clearly stating he would say "no" if Trump asked him to serve in his administration.

"I don't do well in a number two role, I just don't," he said.

He also rejected such narratives under post-debate questions by reporters in the Republican spin room in Milwaukee Wednesday night, insisting adamantly he was in the race to win it: even after claiming onstage he believed Trump to be the "greatest president of the 21^st century.

"I expect Trump to be one of my most valuable advisers," he told reporters, stressing that while he supported Trump and his accomplishments, did not believe Trump could defeat Biden in 2024. "[...] I feel a sense of responsibility to deliver that unifying result of a landslide, and that will position me to take that American First agenda even further than anyone else has."

It's unclear whether Trump has actually considered Ramaswamy or any other candidate in the Republican field to serve as his vice president.

While South Carolina Senator Tim Scott was considered a top candidate for the role (a fact his aides bristled at on social media in recent weeks), more serious discussion about a potential vice presidential post has been floated around Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has openly floated her own White House aspirations in media appearances and in her own private discussions with Trump and people in his orbit.

Others have suggested a possible vice presidential post for failed Arizona Gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who is still reportedly undecided on the prospect of entering a competitive race for U.S. Senate next year in a likely three-way race between top Democratic candidate Ruben Gallego and incumbent U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who is running as an independent.

Trump, meanwhile, has largely kept his thinking on a running mate close to chest as he continues to hold massive polling leads national and in every key primary state ahead of this winter's Republican caucuses in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

In a Truth Social post July 30, Trump claimed he would be watching the upcoming Republican primary debate to see who he "might" consider for his vice presidential pick after his decision not to participate in the Republican debate, citing his significant lead in the polls.

"Let them debate so I can see who I MIGHT consider for Vice President!" he wrote.

Newsweek has reached out to Ramswamy's campaign via email for comment.