DESANTIS IS RUN & DONE
Drops out and backs Don as primary looms
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended his 2024 presidential bid Sunday, endorsing former President Donald Trump and bringing a quiet end to a campaign that had long been seen as the most viable Republican alternative to the 45th president.
“Following our second-place finish in Iowa, we’ve prayed and deliberated on the way forward. If there was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome — more campaign stops, more interviews — I would do it,” DeSantis announced in a video address.
“But I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time, and donate their resources, if we don’t have a clear path to victory,” he added. “Accordingly, I am today suspending my campaign.”
DeSantis, 45, said although he has had “disagreements” with Trump, 77 — notably over their respective handlings of the COVID-19 pandemic — the GOP front-runner “is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clear.”
‘Globalist’ Haley
The now ex-candidate added he was endorsing Trump because “we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents.”
“The days of putting Americans last, of kowtowing to large corporations, of caving to woke ideology, are over,” he said.
South Carolina state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, who was the first elected official to back DeSantis in Haley’s home state, immediately threw his weight behind Trump as well following DeSantis’ announcement.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Trump said he was “very honored” to have DeSantis’ endorsement.
“I look forward to working together with him to beat Joe Biden, who is the worst and most corrupt president in the history of our country,” Trump said.
In a separate statement, his campaign insisted: “It is now time for all Republicans to rally behind President Trump to defeat Crooked Joe Biden and end his disastrous presidency.
“Nikki Haley is the candidate of the globalists and Democrats who will do everything to stop the America First movement. From higher taxes, to decimating Social Security and Medicare, and to open borders, she represents the views of Democrats more than the views of Republicans. It’s time to choose wisely.”
Haley responded to calls for her to clear the field for Trump.
“So far, only one state has voted,” she said in a statement. “Half of its votes went to Donald Trump, and half did not. We’re not a country of coronations. Voters deserve a say in whether we go down the road of Trump and Biden again, or we go down a new conservative road. “New Hampshire voters will have their say on Tuesday,” Haley added. “When I’m president, I will do everything in my power to show them they made the right decision.”
Campaign setbacks
Speculation about DeSantis ending his campaign was fueled by his single-digit polling numbers in New Hampshire and his super PAC Never Back Down canceling events ahead of Tuesday’s primary.
As recently as Friday, DeSantis maintained he would stay in the race until he didn’t see a “path forward,” telling conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt he “100%” had the resources to campaign through the end of March, by which point most states will have held their Republican primaries and caucuses.
Trump and Haley had already been acting as if DeSantis was out of the race before Sunday, both barely mentioning him in the Granite State in recent days.
Coming off a landslide re-election victory in 2022, DeSantis was widely seen as the likeliest Republican to move the party beyond Trump.
However, despite having the most financial backing between campaign and super PAC support, the DeSantis camp struggled with staffing and underwent multiple messaging “resets” — including the departure of DeSantis’ first campaign manager, Generra Peck, in August and a late start attacking Trump.
Meanwhile, DeSantis saw his polling numbers slump as Republican voters rallied around Trump as he was hit with four criminal indictments last year.