Getty Ron DeSantis.
On his way out of the presidential race, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis took a jab at former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley on video.
DeSantis said he was endorsing former President Donald Trump after suspending his campaign because Haley is the “old Republican guard of yesteryear.”
DeSantis’s leaving the race sets up a New Hampshire showdown between Trump and Haley, who finished third in Iowa after Trump and DeSantis.
Here’s what you need to know:
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Said Nikki Haley Represents ‘a Repackaged Form of Warmed-Over Corporatism’
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
– Winston Churchill
In the video message, DeSantis announced that he was suspending his campaign and endorsing Trump. Then, he took a swipe at 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, referring to the former South Carolina governor who placed third in Iowa and who is still in the race.
“The days of putting Americans last, of kowtowing to large corporations, of caving to woke ideology are over,” said DeSantis.
DeSantis’s exodus from the race had been rumored after he canceled a series of news interviews on January 21.
Haley responded to the news on the campaign trail.
Nikki Haley breaks the news that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race here at an event in Seabrook. Here’s what she had to say.
“He ran a great race. He’s been a good governor, and we wish him well,” Haley said, according to a video she shared on X.
“Having said that, it’s now one fella and one lady left.”
“All the fellas are out, except for this one. And this comes down to what do you want. Do you want more of the same or do you want something new?” she said.
Donald Trump Jr. took a swipe at Haley a few hours before DeSantis dropped out. “Not only did Nikki Haley use her time in government to do the bidding of lobbyists, donors, and defense contractors, she wants to cut Social Security and start WW3 over Ukraine. She’s not strong enough to survive the Dem-Media onslaught like Trump has. They would DESTROY her!” he wrote on X.
Ron DeSantis Said That the Country Is in ‘Decline’ & Republican Primary Voters Want to Give Donald Trump ‘Another Chance’
GettyIs Ron DeSantis quitting the presidential race?
In the first part of the video, DeSantis explained the rationale for his campaign, saying that he ran to “bring accountability” to the government, secure the border, and end “indoctrination” of kids. He slammed “D.C. elites” and said the nation was in “decline.”
DeSantis said he was endorsing Trump because Trump, who had slammed DeSantis on the campaign trail as Ron “DeSanctimonious,” was “superior to the current incumbent Joe Biden.”
DeSantis’s video post contains this quote from Winston Churchill: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
DeSantis said that he and his wife prayed about the decision, noting that he placed second in Iowa. But he said that Republican primary voters “want to give Donald Trump another chance,” citing what he called the Democratic “lawfare” against Trump. DeSantis noted that he disagreed with Trump on some things, such as his handling of COVID-19.
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