Ron DeSantis drops out of 2024 race, endorses Donald Trump for president
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended his 2024 campaign Sunday and endorsed former President Donald Trump, saying it’s clear that a “majority” of the Republican base still supports him.
The governor made the announcement just a couple days before the New Hampshire primary, where polls were projecting a single digit third place finish for him.
“Now, following our second place finish in Iowa, we’ve prayed and deliberated on the way forward,” he said. “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 accordingly,” DeSantis said. “I am today suspending my campaign.”
On the former president, he said Trump is facing relentless “lawfare” from Democrats.
“I’ve had disagreements with Donald Trump such as on the coronavirus pandemic and his elevation of Anthony Fauci Trump is superior to the current incumbent Joe Biden – that is clear,” he said. “He has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear.”
At a rally in New Hampshire Sunday evening, hours after DeSantis dropped out, the former president congratulated the Florida governor and called him a “terrific person.”
The former president also celebrated DeSantis’ move Sunday afternoon, calling the Florida governor “very capable.”
Trump’s campaign also said the team is “honored” by DeSantis’ move.
“It is now time for all Republicans to rally behind President Trump to defeat Crooked Joe Biden and end his disastrous presidency,” Team Trump said.
“Nikki Haley is the candidate of the globalists and Democrats who will do everything to stop the America First movement,” they said. “From higher taxes, to decimating Social Security and Medicare, and to open borders, she represents the views of Democrats more than the views of Republicans.”
“A repackaged form of warmed over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents,” the governor continued in his video.
“The mission continues down here in Florida,” he said. “We will continue to show the country how to lead.”
By Sunday evening, just hours after DeSantis’ announcement, all of the Florida Cabinet had endorsed Trump.
“Donald Trump appreciates the role the caretakers of our agriculture industry play in our food supply chain as a matter of national security,” said Wilton Simpson, Florida’s agriculture commissioner. “As President, he negotiated more than 50 trade agreements to boost market access and exports for American goods.”
“We need a proven champion for the American Dream that respects the dignity of a job and rewards hard work,” he said.
“Biden’s policies and refusal to follow the law have shaken the stability of this country and endangered our citizens. It’s time for a sharp turn back to the path of security and prosperity,” Attorney General Ashley Moody said. “It will take a strong leader with the fortitude not to blink, which is why I support President Trump as our nominee. On to November… let’s get this done. Our future depends on it.”
“There has never been a more corrupt more inept Administration than the Biden Crime family,” Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis said. “The swamp is deep and there is only one man who can return this country to its greatness and dismantle this atrocity the elites have built: VOTE DONALD TRUMP. #MAGA“
Trump-supporting Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz celebrated the move and posted a picture of the two together when DeSantis was a congressman.
“Team DeSantis is UNIFYING behind President Donald Trump,” he said.
“Welcome Home, Ron! It’s great to have America’s Governor back onside,” Gaetz said.
Fellow “MAGA” Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna thanked DeSantis for his move.
Following the news, Florida House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, announced his support for Trump.
“Do we continue on the path toward an economic recession and failed foreign policies under President Joe Biden, or do we take back control of our nation under the Republican values that have made our country the envy of the world?” he said.
Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, called DeSantis an “exceptional leader,” but also endorsed Trump, calling for the party to “unite.”
As did Florida Senate President-Designate Ben Albritton, who pointed to Trump’s “track record of fighting for American families and putting America first.”
The Republican Party of Florida thanked DeSantis for backing Trump, described as the presumptive “GOP nominee.”
State Rep. Dean Black, R-Jacksonville, said the “race is over” and called on the Republican Party of Florida to quickly back Trump now that their home-state governor is out of the race.
The chairman of the state party, Evan Power, did throw his support behind Trump Sunday.
Florida House Speaker-Designate Daniel Perez, R-Miami, also announced his support for Trump.
“Floridians have delivered for President Trump twice before, and we will work nonstop to do so again this November,” Perez said.
Another state lawmaker, Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, endorsed Trump and praised DeSantis for “being a class act.”
Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, additionally announced his backing of Trump for the 2024 election, calling for an end to the “infighting.”
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley would now face Trump one-on-one both in New Hampshire and her home state of South Carolina, should she remain in the running.
DeSantis’ campaign lasted around eight months, launching in late-May 2023.
Back in Florida, lawmakers have been convening for the 2024 Legislative Session and considering bills ranging from topics like gun sales, to protecting children from social media harms, banning lab-grown meat and more.
The session ends on March 8.
