Ron DeSantis suspends 2024 campaign, backs Trump for Republican nomination

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended his 2024 presidential bid Sunday, endorsing former President Donald Trump and bringing a quiet end to a campaign that had long been seen as the most viable Republican alternative to the 45th president.

“Following our second place finish in Iowa, we’ve prayed and deliberated on the way forward. If there was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome — more campaign stops, more interviews — I would do it,” DeSantis announced in a video address.

“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,” the 45-year-old added. “Accordingly, I am today suspending my campaign.”

DeSantis said although he has had “disagreements“ with former President Donald Trump, the 77-year-old “is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clear.”

The now ex-candidate added he was endorsing Trump because “we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism that [GOP rival] Nikki Haley represents.

“The days of putting Americans last, of kowtowing to large corporations, of caving to woke ideology, are over.”

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Ron DeSantism dropped out of the 2024 race Sunday. REUTERS

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DeSantis threw his support behind Donald Trump for the GOP nomination.

South Carolina state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, who was the first elected official to back DeSantis in Haley’s home state, immediately threw his weight behind Trump as well following DeSantis’ announcement.

Speculation about DeSantis ending his campaign was fueled by his single-digit polling numbers in New Hampshire and his super PAC Never Back Down cancelling events ahead of Tuesday’s first-in-the-nation primary.

As late as Friday, DeSantis maintained he would continue on in the race until he didn’t see a “path forward,” telling conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt he “100%” had the resources to campaign through the end of March, by which point most states will have held their Republican primaries and caucuses.

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Despite their issues, DeSantis is backing Trump avoid going back to the Republican Party of “yesteryear.” Getty Images

Trump and Haley had already acted as if DeSantis was out of the race once in New Hampshire, with both candidates barely mentioning the Florida governor on the Granite State stump.

This is a developing story

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