Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Drops Out of Presidential Bid, Endorses Trump

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced two days before the New Hampshire primary that he will not seek the Republican Party's presidential nomination. He also stated that he would support the winning candidate.

In a video posted on X, formerly Twitter, DeSantis explained that after finishing a distant second in the Iowa caucus last week, he had decided to step aside from the GOP nomination process.

"(I will) ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don't have a clear path to victory. Accordingly, I am today suspending my campaign," DeSantis said.

While DeSantis said he maintains his differences with former President Donald Trump - especially in the handling of the Coronavirus pandemic or the handling of some public policies, the Florida governor said it is clear that most Republicans will give the former president "another chance."

DeSantis, who has endured severe criticism from Trump, said in his message that the Republican hopeful strikes him as better than incumbent President Joe Biden.

"They watched (Trump's) presidency get stymied by relentless resistance and they see Democrats using lawfare to this day to attack him," DeSantis said.

According to RealClearPolitics polling averages, Trump leads Republican preferences for the presidential nomination with 66.1%, followed by Nikki Haley (11.5%) and DeSantis (10.5%).

DeSantis' exit from the primary will set the stage for a virtual showdown between former President Trump and Haley, who served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during his presidency.