January 21, 2024

Ron DeSantis Quits Presidential Race and Endorses Trump

“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance.”

Ron DeSantis looking glum at a January 19 event in Nashua, NH.Brian Cahn/Zuma

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dropped out the presidential race Sunday and endorsed Donald Trump in remarks that echoed Trump’s baseless claims that he is the victim of a justice system conspiracy.

“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” DeSantis said in a video he tweeted Sunday afternoon. “They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance, and they see Democrats using lawfare to this day to attack him.”

Trump is facing four indictments containing a total of 91 criminal charges. There is no evidence of a coordinated Democratic effort to attack him.

DeSantis also attacked Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who remains in the presidential race and is attempting to compete with Trump in New Hampshire’s crucial primary on Tuesday. “We can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form of warmed over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis initially appeared to be Trump’s most formidable GOP challenger, even as he shied away from criticizing the former president. His campaign bet big on Iowa, where DeSantis was trounced by Trump and barely edged out Haley. DeSantis was not poised to compete in New Hampshire. By endorsing Trump and attacking Haley before voting begins there, the Florida governor appears to be trying to quickly repair his standing with Trump and his followers while there is still a place for him in the Trump tent. 

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