Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump.Photo: Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty; Chip Somodevilla/Getty
Florida Gov.Ron DeSantishas suspended his 2024 presidential campaign and endorsed former PresidentDonald Trump.
The far-right politician, 45, made the announcement in avideoshared on X, formerly Twitter.
“We don’t have a clear path to victory. Accordingly, I am today suspending my campaign,” he continued.
“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” DeSantis then noted, adding: “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.”
DeSantislaunched his campaign last Mayamid murmurs that he was the only Republican who could pose a serious threat to Trump, 77.
But his once-promising outlook faced numerous setbacks in the months that followed ascontroversial Florida lawsand abattle with Disneyearned him nationwide criticism, and a surge in support forNikki Haley’s platform split the anti-Trump vote.
By July 2023, DeSantis' fledgling campaign team was already feeling the effects of his lackluster poll numbers,reportedly firing a large chunk of staffersfor financial reasons after wealthy donors publicly announced they weren’t ready to support the governor’s presidential ambitions.
Ron DeSantis.KIMIMASA MAYAMA/POOL/AFP via Getty
KIMIMASA MAYAMA/POOL/AFP via Getty
Hotel entrepreneur Robert Bigelow was among the mega-donors to pull their support, tellingReutersin August that the ultra-conservative Florida governor would “lose” unless he adopted more moderate stances.
“Extremism isn’t going to get you elected," Bigelow told the outlet, adding that a lot of potential DeSantis donors were “still on the fence” about supporting him. “He does need to shift to get to moderates. He’ll lose if he doesn’t."
As Reuters notes, Bigelow gave $20 million to the pro-DeSantis PAC Never Back Down in March but pulled back on donations later.
Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis at a campaign event in South Carolina on July 17, 2023.AP Photo/Meg Kinnard
AP Photo/Meg Kinnard
Reports also circulated that some other billionaire mega-donors had second thoughts about a DeSantis campaign. On July 24, theSouth Florida Sun Sentinelreported that Nelson Peltz, a billionaire businessman and the father of actressNicola Peltz Beckham, was among those who reconsidered their support for the Florida governor.
Peltz, who was expected to be a huge financial asset to the campaign, allegedly “thinks that most of DeSantis’s policies are acceptable, but his position on abortion is way too severe,” a source told theFinancial Times.
DeSantis took office as Florida’s governor following the 2018 elections and was easily reelected in 2022. He will vacate the office in January 2027.
source: people.com
