Here is why Donald Trump thinks Vivek Ramaswamy won fourth GOP debate

WASHINGTON: Heaping praise on his Republican rival, former US President Donald Trump termed Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy the winner of the fourth GOP debate. The fourth GOP primary debate was held on Wednesday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and was hosted by NewsNation.

"So many people are asking what I thought of history's lowest rated 'presidential' debate, and how would I rate the players. It's so easy to be a critic, but who on this subject would be better than me," he posted on Truth Social on Saturday.

The former President also took shots at his other rivals and slammed the poll numbers of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. "To begin with, I thought Ron DeSanctimonious was terrible, with his bobblehead facial movements and his walking on eggs, but that Sloppy Chris Christie was worse. He's not fit, mentally or physically, to be President plus, he suffers from TDS, or Trump Derangement Syndrome, at levels not seen before," Trump stated further calling the former New Jersey governor a "sick puppy" He further stated that the campaign of former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson -- who did not qualify for the debate earlier this week -- was "dead".

"But so is Ron, whose weird bobbing head and fresh mouth, make his high heels look good -- He's walking on eggs! Birdbrain looked different and lost, but I give her second place," he quipped, referring to Nikki Haley.

"Vivek WINS because he thinks I'm great," Trump added. Notably, amid intense campaigning, both Trump and Ramaswamy have been praising each other and have appeared to be less critical of each other's policies. Ramaswamy had dubbed Trump "the best president of the 21st century" during last week's Republican primary debate and has characterized his candidacy as a bid to take the former president's policies "to the next level."

Even Trump had signalled that he would be open to having him as his running mate, stating that "He would be very good...". However, despite the former president's praise, Ramaswamy has faced scrutiny over his performance in the debate earlier this week, in which he called Haley a "fascist" and claimed Christie's "version of foreign policy experience was closing a bridge from New Jersey to New York," The Hill reported.

Republican strategist Scott Jennings said that most people do not like the "below-the-belt punches". He noted that while Ramaswamy may have tried to act in the style of Trump, it did not work for him. The Indian-American leader grabbed widespread attention and became one of the most-searched 2024 Republican contenders after the debate at Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum.

But, the latest national Fox News poll showed Ramaswamy polling in fourth place at 7 per cent, maintaining the same amount of support he had in October. Ahead of him are former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley at 11 per cent, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at 14 per cent while Trump carries a huge lead of a whopping 62 per cent. The next US presidential election is scheduled for November 5, 2024.