A July 20 Harvard-Harris poll shows that former President Donald Trump could beat President Joe Biden handily if the race for the presidency were held today.

Former President Trump continues to dominate the Republican primary field and would beat President Biden in a general election, according to a new poll.

If the 2024 Republican presidential primary were held today, Trump would win with 52% of voters.

His nearest rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would lag 40 points behind with just 12%, while Vivek Ramaswamy, a biopharmaceutical entrepreneur, rounded out the top three with 10% support, according to the Harvard-Harris poll released Friday.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been languishing in the polls of late and has made some drastic changes to his campaign. The TPUSA youngsters are also not feeling Ron, as they picked Donald Trump as their number one candidate in a straw poll. Guess who was the second choice? Fresh-faced upstart Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who is just shy of two points behind DeSantis in the Harvard-Harris poll and could edge DeSantis out.

2024 National Republican Primary:

Trump 52% (+40)
DeSantis 12%
Ramaswamy 10%
Pence 7%
Haley 4%
Scott 2%
Christie 2%
Burgum 1%
Hutchinson 1%
Binkley 1%
Suarez 0%
Elder 0%
Johnson 0%
Hurd 0%
.
Head-2–Head:
Trump 63% (+26)
DeSantis 37%
.
Trump 71% (+42)
T. Scott 29%…

— Political Polls (@Politics_Polls) July 23, 2023

Ramaswamy is a smart strategist, so he is making moves to position himself for a future administration, possibly Trump’s. On July 18, it was reported in a podcast interview with Fox News host Steve Hilton that Ramaswamy stated he would not be in Trump’s cabinet.

Longshot 2024 hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy said that he would not take a Cabinet position in a Donald Trump administration.

The candidate’s comments are from a podcast appearance with conservative host Steve Hilton earlier this month and were previously unreported.

Since the recording of the interview, former President Trump told Fox News that he would consider Ramaswamy for his vice president or a cabinet position if he becomes president again.

And former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley said she would not run for President in 2024 if Trump planned to run, yet look who’s also a presidential contender. Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchison, the list goes on, refuse to go gently into that good night and satisfy themselves with being Republican Party elder statesmen with speaking engagements and think tank appointments. Instead, they are allowing donors with too much money and too little sense to whisper in their ears, telling them it’s their “turn,” at the very least, and at most, that they have a chance to be a part of the Republican 2024 presidential ticket.

Hope springs eternal, and billionaire donors attempt to be kingmakers because they can. Polls like the one above are showing the exact opposite, so these donors are simply lighting their money on fire.

What is noteworthy about this list is the majority of them have exhibited an outright betrayal or lack of loyalty regarding the former president. This is how Ramaswamy has distinguished himself and is probably why he has an edge among Trump supporters and with Trump himself. At the Family Leadership Summit in Iowa, Ramaswamy spoke with Tucker Carlson and condemned January 6 and the atmosphere that led up to it.

NEW: Vivek Ramaswamy breaks from other Republican candidates & defends Trump while saying that 'pervasive censorship' led to January 6th.

Notice the difference in energy with Vivek compared to the other candidates 🔥

"There's such a temptation to say that there's one man whose… pic.twitter.com/jjmumBJRqI

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 14, 2023

Ramaswamy also held a press conference in front of the Miami courthouse where Trump was arraigned on June 13. Ramaswamy pledged that, should he become president and Trump be convicted, he would pardon Trump. Ramaswamy also urged other Republican candidates to do the same. It’s an iconoclast move to position yourself opposite of the herd, and Ramaswamy is doing just that.

Ramaswamy most recently defended Trump on Sunday’s Fox News Sunday with Shannon Bream.

I’ve been consistent all along that I would have made different judgments than Donald Trump made — that is why I’m running in this race for the presidency — the same race that he’s in. Because I would have made different and, I believe, better judgments for the country.

But a bad judgment is not the same thing as a crime, and when we conflate the two, that sets a dangerous precedent for this country. I don’t want to see us become some banana republic where the party in power uses police force to arrest its political opponents.

Ramaswamy has also said that he considers the Supreme Court one of “Trump’s greatest accomplishments.”

In that same appearance, Ramaswamy waxed eloquent about how he would handle foreign policy, referring to President Xi Jinping and China as the “greatest threat.”

During the appearance, Ramaswamy responded to Trump’s recent comments describing Chinese President Xi Jinping as “brilliant” and “an iron fist.” Ramaswamy said Xi “is a dictator, and China is the top threat that the United States faces,” arguing that he stands apart from other 2024 candidates, including Trump, in campaigning for “economic independence” from China.

Ramaswamy also laid out a strategy on Ukraine and Russia.

WATCH:

WATCH: @VivekGRamaswamy lays out his foreign policy plan for Russia and China. Tune in! pic.twitter.com/Z91FSOqeBR

— Fox News Sunday (@FoxNewsSunday) July 23, 2023

So, any way you slice it, if Trump becomes the Republican nominee, Ramaswamy will have some role in his administration: whether it be Vice President, Secretary of State, or behind the scenes, like Chief of Staff. While pretending to play it straight and not appear as though he is currying favor, Ramaswamy is making all the moves to align himself in the pro-Trump camp while also showing his mettle and presenting his knowledge on national and foreign policy issues. No matter how these Trump indictments shake out, Ramaswamy’s place as a national political contender has been cemented.