Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Sunday suspended his 2024 presidential bid, endorsing former President Donald Trump and putting a quiet end to a campaign that had long been seen as the most viable Republican alternative to the 45th president.
“After our second place finish in Iowa, we have prayed and deliberated about the path 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 speech.
“But I can’t ask our fans to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don’t have a clear path to victory,” the 45-year-old added. “Accordingly, today I am suspending my campaign.”
DeSantis said that although he has had “disagreements” with Trump, particularly over their respective handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 77-year-old “is superior to the incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clean.”
The now former candidate added that he supported Trump because “we cannot return to the old Republican guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form of overheated corporatism that [GOP rival] Nikki Haley represents.
Ron DeSantism withdrew from the 2024 race on Sunday. REUTERS
“Gone are the days of Americans being left last, of kowtowing to big corporations, of bowing to woke ideology.”
South Carolina state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, who was the first elected official to endorse DeSantis in Haley’s home state, immediately endorsed Trump as well after DeSantis’ announcement.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Trump said he was “very honored” to have DeSantis’ endorsement.
“I look forward to working with him to defeat Joe Biden, who is the worst and most corrupt president in the history of our country,” the former president added.
In a separate statement, the Trump campaign insisted: “The time has come for all Republicans to unite behind President Trump to defeat corrupt Joe Biden and end his disastrous presidency.
“Nikki Haley is the candidate of the globalists and Democrats who will do everything she can to stop the America First movement. From higher taxes to decimating Social Security and Medicare to opening borders, she represents the views of Democrats more than those of Republicans,” the statement added. “It’s time to choose wisely.”
Haley responded in a statement, saying she wished DeSantis well before turning to calls for him to clear the field for Trump.
DeSantis expressed his support for Donald Trump for the Republican nomination.
“So far, only one state has voted,” he said. “Half of their votes were for Donald Trump and the other half were not. We are not a country of coronations. Voters deserve a say in whether we go back down the path of Trump and Biden or down a new conservative path.
“New Hampshire voters will weigh in on Tuesday,” Haley added. “When I am president, I will do everything in my power to show them that they made the right decision.”
Speculation about DeSantis ending his campaign was fueled by his single-digit poll numbers in New Hampshire and his Never Back Down super PAC canceling events ahead of the nation’s first-ever primary. Tuesday.
As recently as Friday, DeSantis maintained that he would remain in the race until he saw a “path forward,” telling conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that he had “100%” of the resources to campaign until the end of March. , at which point, most states will have held their Republican primaries and caucuses.
Trump and Haley had already acted as if DeSantis was out of the race before Sunday, and both candidates barely mentioned the Florida governor in the Granite State in recent days.
After a landslide re-election victory in 2022, DeSantis was widely seen as the Republican most likely to lead the party past Trump, even after the former president announced his 2024 bid following the U.S.’s disappointing midterm performance. Republican Party.
However, the launch of a glitchy campaign last May on Twitter Spaces, during which audio issues and other technical difficulties prevented the online audience from hearing much of what DeSantis had to say, foreshadowed bigger problems with his effort. .
Despite having the largest financial backing among campaign and super PAC support, DeSantis’ camp struggled with staffing and messaging strategies.
Despite his problems, DeSantis is supporting Trump’s avoidance of returning to the Republican Party of “old.” fake images
The governor’s campaign suffered multiple messaging “resets,” including the departure of DeSantis’ first campaign manager, Generra Peck, in August, laying off a significant portion of his staff and arriving late to begin attacking Trump.
Meanwhile, DeSantis plummeted in the polls as Republican voters rallied behind Trump as he faced four criminal indictments throughout 2023, leading the governor to complain last month that the former president’s legal troubles had “distorted” the primary. republicans.
After coming in second (nearly 30 points behind Trump) in the January 15 caucus, DeSantis claimed he had “pulled” his “ticket” out of Iowa and would continue on to New Hampshire and South Carolina.
With DeSantis averaging just 6.3% support in New Hampshire, his team tried to claim he could overtake Haley in the Palmetto State, even though polls there showed him running a distant third behind her and Trump.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn