Let's start on a positive note: Vivek Ramaswamy's exit from the race. Vivek Ramaswamy has been a long-shot candidate from the start of his campaign. He no doubt did better than a lot of political pundits thought he would. Ramaswamy has many appealing qualities; he is young, he is smart, articulate, and made valid points during his campaign about passing the torch of conservatism to the next generation. He realized Monday night that there was no realistic path to the White House for him and suspended his campaign. In a short speech to his supporters, Ramaswamy announced the suspension of his campaign and that he is fully behind Donald Trump. It was a classy, honorable, and selfless move, and the nation got a good look at just who Vivek Ramaswamy is. He has been lauded all over social media, and It would not be unreasonable that we might expect to see Ramaswamy on the campaign trail with Donald Trump. Should Trump get reelected, he would be well served to find a spot for Ramaswamy in a second Trump administration. We have certainly not seen the last of Vivek Ramaswamy.

If desantis effectively governs Florida for the next 4 years, he has a shot at 2028.

— America First 🇮🇱 (@magaman28) January 16, 2024

On not necessarily a negative note, maybe just less than positive, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley finished in second and third place, respectively. Baseball great Frank Robinson once said, "Close don't count in baseball. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades." Add primaries when you are running against Donald Trump to that list. Ron DeSantis has been a rising star in the Republican Party but was lagging in the race for Governor in 2018 when Trump endorsed him. It has been his record and popularity as Florida's governor that has propelled him among Republicans. If the 77-year-old Trump were elected for the second time, he could not run again, and the general feeling was that 2028 would be DeSantis' nomination to lose. A valid question might be, has DeSantis squandered that chance by not waiting? It's a long time until November and an even longer time until 2028. Perhaps this year's campaign will ready him all the more for a 2028 run. 

There has been much talk on social media and elsewhere that, given the bulldozer Trump took to the Iowa Caucus, should the GOP consider scrapping the rest of the primary process and putting their resources towards the main event, defeating Joe Biden and the Democrats in November? We have seen just this practice by Democrats in North Carolina, who have requested that Joe Biden's name be the only one on the ballot, thus depriving anyone who might want to vote for Robert Kennedy Jr., Marianne Williamson, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), and podcaster Cenk Uygur. Democrats may have ulterior motives behind their decision, but post-Iowa, there is also a lot of chatter among Republicans that Trump is the inevitable nominee and that the Democrat machine is vast and cash-infused. That putting all resources toward defeating that machine would be the wise and practical approach. Even if it is true that Trump is an inevitability, doesn't it make us guilty of the same thing Democrats are doing?

So it is on to New Hampshire, a very different place with a very different electorate and a different process. If there is a different outcome is anybody's guess.

None of the people running against Trump are going to win the nomination. The first few primaries are fueled by Never Trumpers after that the money dries up and they go home. After New Hampshire and South Carolina it's a massacre on all states with Trump steam rolling to victory.

— USA Trump Man 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@USATRUMPMAN1) January 16, 2024