Vivek Ramaswamy unveils endorsement criteria for candidates: Their 'moral duty' must be to US citizens

FIRST ON FOX - Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is unveiling his endorsement criteria for other political hopefuls he dubs "The American Truth Pledge."

Speaking with Fox News Digital, Ramaswamy said he has received "a flood of inbound requests for endorsements" after he suspended his 2024 campaign last month and threw his support behind former President Trump. But in order for them to earn his endorsement, they must share "some basic ideals" that were major themes of his presidential bid in putting "America First." 

"I don't want to be making these decisions in a one-off manner," Ramaswamy said in an interview. "I want to be making them in a systematic manner to say that if somebody gets endorsement, for me, it means that we are jointly endorsing some basic ideals that we stand behind."

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Former GOP hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy unveiled his "American Truth Pledge" endorsement criteria. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

The "American Truth Pledge" has four broad categories. The first reads "The people we elect to run government should actually run the government," the second being "The first and only moral duty of US leaders is to US citizens," the third being "Public service is about serving the public, not oneself," and the final one reading "The absence of national pride is an existential threat to our nation’s future — we must fill that void." 

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Within the categories are bullet points of things Ramaswamy campaigned on like reducing the size of the federal government by 75% and backing a requirement for high school seniors to pass a civics test in order for them to vote. 

"If people are on board with the planks of a lot of the vision of what I shared across my campaign for president, that's going to be the basis for the endorsements that I make," Ramaswamy said. 

Ramaswamy says those seeking his endorsement must share many of the ideals he campaigned on in the GOP primary. (Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

He continued, "And so when I do endorse people in races across this country, large and small, that way people across this country can know what that means. It's not just that I have a pal or a friend who I think is a good guy or gal. It means that we stand for a shared set of ideals, by the way, which happened to be the ideals that this country was founded on in 1776."

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The biotech entrepreneur defied expectations when he first joined the race in February 2023 with virtually zero name recognition, outlasting big name Republicans like South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Vice President Mike Pence. 

US entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy (R) endorses Republican presidential candidate former US President Donald Trump during a campaign event at the Atkinson Resort and Country Club in Atkinson, New Hampshire, on January 16, 2024. (TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)

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Ramaswamy suspended his campaign following a disappointing performance at the Iowa caucus and quickly endorsed the GOP frontrunner. 

During a campaign rally last month, Trump teased a potential role for Ramaswamy on his team.

"He's going to be working with us and he'll be working with us for a long time," Trump told his supporters.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.