DeSantis Drops Out, Endorses Trump

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dropped out of the Republican presidential race and endorsed former President Donald Trump on Sunday.

Key Quotes: DeSantis said on X, “It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance. 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.” Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley said, “He ran a great race. He has been a good governor, and we wish him well. Having said that, it’s now one fella and one lady left…  may the best woman win.”

For Context: The move comes days ahead of the New Hampshire primary, where Haley is polling far ahead of DeSantis, but behind Trump. Though he finished second in last week’s Iowa GOP caucus with around 21% of the vote, DeSantis’ polling numbers have steadily declined since early 2023.

How The Media Covered It: The Guardian (Lean Left bias) called DeSantis “hard-right” and said the news was “the culmination of a long, agonizing decline.” It included many of DeSantis’ campaign’s gaffes and an anecdote from New Hampshire, in which a restaurant worker said DeSantis hadn’t pre-paid for an event he was due to host there today. Washington Times (Lean Right bias) said DeSantis had “no path to overtaking” Trump. Financial Times (Center bias) said DeSantis’ “campaign was plagued by overspending and staff infighting” and that he “ultimately only appealed to a narrow band of orthodox conservatives.”