DES MOINES, Iowa—As the clock slipped past 10 p.m., the crowd grew restless, edging closer to the stage with their heads fixed on the entrance, eagerly awaiting Vivek Ramaswamy’s emergence. He was expected to take to the stage and rally supporters with a rousing speech about truth and the “1776 moment” the nation faces in the 2024 elections.
At 10:15 p.m., a ripple sifted through the crowd at the Surety Hotel in downtown Des Moines. Heads were now drawn to cell phones, a string of dings heralding a sudden burst of bulletins and alerts: ‘Ramaswamy to end his presidential campaign’.
The end did not come as a shock but as a murmur. There was no wailing, no outcry, no grand crash of crushed hopes. Perhaps the end was evident in the size of the crowd itself, which numbered about 100 people. There may have been as many media and campaign staffers on the floor….
