United States: The Governor of Florida, Mr. Ron DeSantis, has dropped his 2024 White House bid, suspending his Republican presidential campaign.
It comes just before the New Hampshire primary while endorsing his bitter rival, former US President Mr. Donald Trump. According to polls, he was well behind both former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and front-runner Mr. Trump.
“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” Mr. DeSantis said in a video posted on X.
Mr. DeSantis continued to criticise Haley in the video, claiming that Republicans “can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents.” Ms. Haley has long been his closest opponent for second place in the primary.
Putting aside months of criticism and mockery of DeSantis, Trump praised the governor at a rally on Sunday night in Rochester, New Hampshire, saying he was looking forward to working with him to defeat the likely Democratic nominee, President Mr. Joe Biden.
“I just want to thank Ron and congratulate him on doing a very good job. He was very gracious, and he endorsed me. I appreciate that, and I also look forward to working with Ron.” Trump described DeSantis as “a really terrific person,” Mr. Trump said at the outset of his remarks.
Early primary polls indicated that DeSantis was well-positioned to challenge Trump when he entered the 2024 presidential contest with significant advantages. Together with his allies, he and his supporters accumulated a political fortune of well over $130 million. He also claimed a notable legislative record on matters that are significant to many conservatives, such as abortion and the teaching of gender and race in schools.
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