Politics

Ron DeSantis Suspends Presidential Campaign, Endorses Trump

Screen Shot_@RonDeSantis_Twitter

Screen Shot_@RonDeSantis_Twitter

Henry Rodgers Chief National Correspondent
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Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Sunday that he will be suspending his presidential campaign and endorsing former President Donald Trump to be the GOP nominee in 2024.

DeSantis made the announcement in a video posted on Twitter, with a caption reading “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” In the video he explains his decision to drop out and says Trump will be the best person to take on President Joe Biden.

“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance. They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance and they see Democrats using lawfare to this day to attack him. While I have had disagreements with Donald Trump, such as on the coronavirus pandemic and his elevation of Anthony Fauci, Trump is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clear,” he says in the video.

“I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee and I will honor that pledge. He has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear — a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism — that Nikki Haley represents,” he adds.

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The New Hampshire primary is Tuesday. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley remains in the race.

Haley offered her well-wishes to DeSantis during a campaign event in New Hampshire.

“He ran a great race, he’s been a good governor, and we wish him well. Having said that, it’s now one fella and one lady left. There were fourteen people in this race, there were a lot of fellas. All the fellas are out, except for this one. And this comes down to, ‘What do you want?’ Do you want more of the same or do you want something new?”

Donald Trump had predicted DeSantis would end his campaign after learning he was canceling media appearances.

“That’s a big deal. He’s canceling everything,” Trump said during a Saturday interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier. “History says that’s usually not a good sign for a campaign, so I see he’s, probably, getting out. Look, he did very poorly, although he did much better than Nikki — quite a bit better than Nikki in Iowa. I would think he’s getting out. I don’t see a path. I don’t see a path for her either. ”

The GOP frontrunner “officially retired” the nickname of his rival during a suprise visit to his Manchester, New Hampshire campaign headquarters earlier Sunday.

The Trump campaign released a statement Sunday saying they were “honored” by the Florida governor’s endorsement, before calling on “all Republicans to rally behind President Trump.”

At a Rochester, New Hampshire rally Sunday night, former President Trump offered his congratulations to his former rival “for running a great campaign for president” and thanked him for his endorsement before urging supporters to unite to “defeat crooked Joe Biden.”

DeSantis trended with 10.5 points nationally, 7.5 points in New Hampshire and 11.0 points in South Carolina, according to the latest RealClearPolitics polling averages.

(This is a developing story. More information will be added as it becomes available.)