Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced the official suspension of his 2024 Republican presidential campaign and endorsed former President Donald Trump on Sunday. The governor’s announcement comes just prior to Tuesday’s primary contest in New Hampshire.
In a video message shared on X, formerly Twitter, DeSantis explained, “If there was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome, more campaign stops, more interviews, I would do it. 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.”
A recent CNN poll of New Hampshire primary voters showed DeSantis with only 6% of voters’ support. Trailing far behind Trump and former South Carolina Governor and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in the Granite State, DeSantis told his supporters that he was suspending his campaign on Sunday and endorsing Trump.
“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” DeSantis said. “They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance, and they see Democrats using lawfare this day to attack him.”
The Florida governor added, “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.”
During a campaign event in New Hampshire on Sunday, Trump congratulated DeSantis for running a “really good campaign.” The former president described DeSantis as a “really terrific person” and noted that running a presidential campaign is not an easy undertaking for any candidate.
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“He was very gracious, and he endorsed me, so I appreciate it. I appreciate that. And I also look forward to working with Ron and everybody else to defeat crooked Joe Biden; we will have to get him out,” Trump said. “He’s put our country at great peril, at great peril. So I just want to thank Ron and congratulate him on doing a very good job. It’s a tough situation. It’s a tough thing to do.”
Asked on Sunday if he would continue to use the nickname “DeSanctimonious” to criticize his former Republican rival, Trump told his supporters, “That name is officially retired.”
