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DeSantis drops out of presidential race, endorses Trump, takes swipe at Nikki Haley

By withdrawing from the presidential election, the 2024 Republican primary opens the field for former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley to capture more votes

El gobernador de Florida, el republicano Ron DeSantis
El gobernador de Florida, el republicano Ron DeSantis | EFE/Giorgio Viera

January 21, 2024 6:19pm

Updated: January 21, 2024 6:19pm

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis withdrew from the 2024 presidential race on Sunday and endorsed former President Donald Trump. 

We don't have a clear path to victory, DeSantis said in a video posted on X.

“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,”DeSantis said Sunday. “They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance and they see Democrats using lawfare to this day to attack him."

“While I have 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.”

The Florida governor withdrew from the Republican primary before New Hampshire voters headed to the polls Tuesday to vote in the first Republican primary.

By withdrawing from the presidential election, the 2024 Republican primary opens the field for former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley to capture more votes.

DeSantis didn’t hesitate to also take a swipe at Trump’s opponent, saying he gave the former president his 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.”

Trump said he was “very honored” to receive DeSantis’s endorsement and told Fox News digital he was looking forward “to working together with him to beat Joe Biden,” whom he described as “the worst and most corrupt president in the history of our country.”