Ron DeSantis drops out of 2024 presidential race, endorses Donald Trump

Florida
Gov.

Ron
DeSantis
dropped
out
of
the

2024
presidential
race
and
endorsed
front-runner
Donald
Trump
on
Sunday,
two
days
before
the
New
Hampshire
primary.

“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,”
DeSantis
said
in
a
Sunday

social
media
post.
“Accordingly,
I
am
today
suspending
my campaign.”

“Trump is
superior
to
the
current
incumbent
Joe Biden.
That
is
clear,”
DeSantis
said.
“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.”

The
Trump
campaign
said
in
a
Sunday
statement
it
was
“honored”
to
receive
DeSantis’
endorsement,
along
with
“so
many
other
former
presidential
candidates.”

DeSantis
joins
a
growing
list
of
defunct
2024
candidates,
like
North
Dakota
Gov.
Doug
Burgum,
entrepreneur
Vivek
Ramaswamy
and
Sen.
Tim
Scott,
R-S.C.,
who
endorsed
Trump
after
suspending
their
campaigns.

At
a
New
Hampshire
rally
Sunday
evening,
Trump
congratulated
Ron
for
bowing
out
and
giving
him
his
endorsement.

“As
you
know,
he
left
the
campaign
trail
today
at
3
p.m.
and
in
so
doing,
he
was
very
gracious
and
he
endorsed
me,
so
I
appreciate
that,”
Trump
said.
“I
also
look
forward
to
working
with
Ron
and
everybody
else
to
defeat
crooked
Joe
Biden.”

I
appreciate
that.
And
I
also
look
forward
to
working
with
Ron
and
everybody
else
to
defeat
crooked
Joe
Biden.

Minutes
after
he
announced
his
exit
from
the
2024
race,
DeSantis
canceled
a
campaign
event
he
had
scheduled
in
New
Hampshire.
The
campaign
said
that
he
would
instead
remain
in
Tallahassee,
Florida.

Despite
claiming
a
victory
at
the
Iowa
caucuses
on
Jan.
15
where
he
edged
out
former
Haley
for
second
place,
DeSantis
has
severely
lagged
his
opponents
in
New
Hampshire.

DeSantis
was
polling
at
6%
in
the
Granite
State,
compared
to
Trump’s
50%
and
Haley’s
39%,
according
to
a
CNN/University
of
New
Hampshire
poll
conducted
between
Jan.
16
and
19.

In
response
to
DeSantis’
announcement,
Haley
said
the
GOP
primary
contest
is
now
a
“two-person
race.”

Since
Iowa,
the
DeSantis
campaign
has
appeared
to
be
winding
down.
The
pro-DeSantis
super
PAC,
Never
Back
Down,

laid
off
staff
earlier
this
week
and
DeSantis
canceled
several
media
appearances
he
had
scheduled
Sunday.

DeSantis’
exit
marks
the
end
of
a
campaign
that
initially
showed
promise
but
has
been
rife
with

internal
drama
and
strategic
blunders.
Reports
of
infighting
seasoned
nearly
the
entire
timeline
of
the
DeSantis
campaign
and
staff
were
often
quoted
as
having
lost
faith
in
the
campaign
well
before
it
ended.

Starting
Monday,
the
Florida
governor
will
return
to
his
day
job
where
he
has
faced
criticism
for
neglecting
his
duties
in
pursuit
of
the
presidency.

“Our
governor
roams
the
political
world
(Florida
be
damned)
seeking
the
presidential
nomination,”
a
Florida
resident

wrote
in
the
Sarasota
Herald-Tribune
earlier
in
January.

This
is
a
developing
story.
Check
back
for
more
updates.