Ron DeSantis Ends 2024 Run, Endorses Trump

Facts

• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the 2024 presidential race on Sunday, stating he couldn't see 'a clear path to victory.' He instead endorsed Republican frontrunner, former president Donald Trump.¹
• The 45-year-old's decision follows poll results that showed him as a distant third among GOP candidates, behind Trump and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, in the upcoming New Hampshire primary.²
• Endorsing Trump as 'superior' to Pres. Joe Biden, DeSantis said his Republican rival Nikki Haley represented 'a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism.'³
• Previously, Trump had dubbed DeSantis as 'DeSanctimonious.' However, following the suspension of his campaign, the former president called him 'a really terrific person.'⁴
• DeSantis' exit has been varyingly attributed to a lack of personal connection with voters, absence of good advisers, negative media coverage, and funding mismanagement.⁵
• DeSantis' decision to quit leaves Haley, who he barely beat in the race for second place in Iowa, as Trump's last rival standing.⁶

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²Al Jazeera, ³Financial Times, ⁴Sky News, ⁵POLITICO and ⁶The New York Times.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by Fort Worth Star. Ron DeSantis had many attractive qualities to GOP voters — age, popularity, military experience, and even an Ivy League education. He is a star Republican governor of Florida, even besides his reputation as a competent politician and intellectual. Yet, his campaign never really took off, primarily because such old-world attributes don't count for much in the modern political landscape. Trump's campaign plays on divisions, which will see him jettisoned to the top of the GOP primaries to the detriment of US society.
• Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by The Daily Beast. Ron DeSantis isn't a 'people person' as far as opinions are concerned. To that extent, he is unfit to be a prominent politician, let alone president of the US. He tried being a bit of everything — Reagan, Trump, and even Viktor Orban. Yet, his sclerotic campaign's lack of originality reflected this state of play to voters. He got further in the presidential race than he deserved, especially against Donald Trump.

Predictions