Billionaire Elon Musk's predictions for the Iowa caucuses were widely criticized after now-former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy suspended his campaign.
Ramaswamy withdrew from the presidential race following a worse-than-expected performance in the Iowa caucuses. Disappointed by the outcome, Ramaswamy announced his decision to drop out and declared his endorsement for former President Donald Trump. The move significantly narrows the field in the Republican primary race, with Trump continuing to dominate the race.
This meant that Musk's prediction about Ramaswamy's performance in the caucus had aged like milk, as liberal commentator Brian Tyler Cohen was happy to remind us.
Mere days ago, Musk surmised that reports that Ramaswamy had conducted "more meetings with voters than all other candidates combined" signaled he would do well in Monday's vote.
You can see Musk's post below.
@elonmusk/X
But Ramaswamy's failure meant that some of Musk's prior predictions would see the light of day again, per Cohen's post.
For instance, in 2022, Musk predicted there would be a "massive red wave" and announced he'd voted Republican for the first time, casting his vote for Mayra Flores, a former Texas Representative who lost her bid after publicly backing Trump and promoting his baseless lies that the 2020 general election had been stolen from him.
You can see Musk's post below.
@elonmusk/X
Similarly, Musk once declared that the city of Los Angeles was "fortunate" to have the "awesome" Rick Caruso running for mayor. But Caruso lost—he ran as a Democrat and lost to progressive Democratic former Rep. Karen Bass (Caruso had previously registered as non-partisan, and before that he was a Republican.)
You can see Musk's post below.
@elonmusk/X
After Musk's awful predictions resurfaced, social media users took it upon themselves to pile on with the mockery.
Ramaswamy, who secured the fourth position in the Iowa caucuses, became the only candidate to exit the race following the first-in-the-nation vote in Iowa. In endorsing Trump, he pledged to champion an "America First" agenda and revealed plans to attend a Trump campaign rally in New Hampshire.
Ramaswamy entered the presidential race without any prior political experience. His campaign, marked by controversy over its endorsement of conspiracy theories, advocated for the end of birthright citizenship and affirmative action. Additionally, he proposed the closure of government agencies such as the Education Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service.
Despite positioning himself as an outsider aligned with Trump's "America First" agenda, Ramaswamy struggled to gain significant traction. Trump, who secured a resounding victory in Iowa, criticized Ramaswamy, branding him a "fraud" and cautioning Republicans that supporting him would align with the "other side."
