DeSantis slams Nikki Haley as a 'repackaged form of warmed over corporatism' and says it's clear Republicans want to give Trump a 'second chance' in farewell video channeling Winston Churchill

'I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee and I will honor that pledge,' DeSantis said in his endorsement of Trump 'We can't go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear -- a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism -- that Nikki Haley represents,' DeSantis saidDeSantis also thanked his family in his video dropping out of the race 

Ron DeSantis slammed Nikki Haley and endorsed Donald Trump on Sunday as he ended his presidential campaign, throwing his support to the man who helped him  become governor instead of the only viable alternate to the former president.

DeSantis’ blessing of Trump comes two days after he spent time in New Hampshire questioning the former president’s ability to win the general election against Joe Biden.

But, in his video announcement that he was dropping out of the race for the GOP nomination, DeSantis noted: ‘It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance. They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance and they see Democrats using lawfare to this day to attack him.’

‘Trump is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clear. I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee and I will honor that pledge.’

DeSantis dropped out of the race three days before New Hampshire holds its first-in-the-nation primary. The Florida governor was running third in the polls. After his failure to win Iowa – and with Nikki Haley’s home state South Carolina up next in the primary process – it was unclear where DeSantis had a path to the nomination.

In his video he quoted Winston Churchill and thanked his family, especially his wife Casey, for their support.

‘Trump is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clear. I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee and I will honor that pledge.’ Ron DeSantis said

In his endorsement of the former president, DeSantis acknowledged that he’s ‘had disagreements with Donald Trump’ but used his endorsement of the former president to get in an attack on their GOP rival Nikki Haley.

‘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,’ DeSantis said.

DeSantis closed out his video message with a quote from Winston Churchill, the wartime prime minister who helped save England during World Wart II, and thanked his family.

‘Winston Churchill once remarked that ‘success is not final, failure is not fatal — it is the courage to continue that counts.’ While this campaign has ended, the mission continues,’ he said.

‘I want to thank my wife Casey and our kids Madison, Mason, and Mamie. Casey has gone far above and beyond in her support for our campaign and for our cause. She is not only a great wife and mother; she is a great American, who cares deeply about the future of the country that our kids will inherit,’ DeSantis said.

‘Our kids have seen and done a lot on the trail, from playing on the famed Field of Dreams baseball site in Iowa to making their first snowman in New Hampshire.’

He added: ‘They are one of the reasons we fight so hard for what we believe in.’

Ron DeSantis attacked Nikki Haley in his statement: ‘We can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear — a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism — that Nikki Haley represents’

DeSantis had been a Donald Trump critic before he endorsed him

DeSantis’ endorsement of Trump came after he has repeatedly criticized the former president, questioning his age and arguing he’ll inspire Democrats to come out in droves to support Biden.

Trump, for his part, nicknamed his rival DeSanctimonious, and had repeatedly blasted DeSantis for running against him when Trump’s endorsement on then Rep. DeSantis helped propel DeSantis to the Florida governor’s mansion.

‘I haven’t even mentioned the name of Ron DeSanctimonious yet — I think he’s gone,’ Trump told his rally in Manchester on Saturday night.

DeSantis hadn’t held back in attacks.

‘You can be the most worthless Republican in America, if you kiss the ring, Trump will say you are wonderful,’ he said six days ago on the campaign trail.

And DeSantis, campaigning in Iowa on Friday, warned about Trump’s electability, saying the low Republican turnout in the Iowa caucuses, which the former president won by 30 points, was a warning sign.

‘It’s a warning sign for the party in November because the turnout was so abysmally low,’ he said. ‘There’s terrible enthusiasm right now.’

‘You have some folks on our side who don’t want to do the Trump thing again, and they checked out and they checked out of the caucus,’ DeSantis noted.

The 110,000 voters who participated in the 2024 Iowa caucuses accounts for just under 15% of the state’s 752,000 registered Republicans, according to the results. And it’s a far lower number than the 186,000 who came out in 2016.

DeSantis acknowledged it was cold and snowy in Iowa but still argued it was a bad sign.

‘It’s a question of what does that portend for November and how the Republican base is going to be energized or not energized?,’ he said.

‘We know the Democrats probably wouldn’t be energized with Biden in the absence of a Trump nomination. I think that they would have trouble with turnout, but I think we also know that if Trump’s the candidate, I think you’re gonna see big time uptick in Democrat enthusiasm, and I think that’s going to give them an advantage.’

In his statement, DeSantis thanked his wife Casey DeSantis and their kids Madison, Mamie and Mason – above the DeSantis family at the Iowa State Fair

Haley has issued similar warnings about the former president, saying ‘chaos and drama’ follows him where ever he goes.

‘I’ve said it over and over again, rightly or wrongly chaos and drama follows him,’ she said in New Hampshire on Thursday. ‘My style is different. No vendetta, no drama, no vengeance.’

The results from New Hampshire on Tuesday will be closed watched as a measure of enthusiasm for the former president among Republican voters.  The weather in the state is below freezing but otherwise clear of rain and snow.