Ron DeSantis drops out of US presidential race, extends support to Trump

Florida Governor Ron Desantis on Sunday (Jan 21) stepped out from the 2024 presidential race and backed former US president Donald Trump.

Desantis backed out ahead of the Republican primary election to be held in New Hampshire, where the leader was polling in the single digits. DeSantis was once seen as a strong contender for the nomination of the party - but on Sunday he announced that he did not "have a clear path to victory".

Trump's last remaining challenger, Nikki Haley, said she was the "only one" who can defeat US President Joe Biden. Trump and Haley will face each other in New Hampshire's primary election on Tuesday (Jan 23). This will be the second in a series of state-by-state contests which are being conducted to select a Republican nominee for the general election scheduled in November.

DeSantis, in a five-minute long video posted on social media platform X on Sunday, said that his campaign had "left it all out on the field".

"If there was anything I could do to produce a favourable outcome - more campaign stops, more interviews - I would do it," he said while announcing the end of his seven-month campaign.

The Florida governor said that he is now endorsing Trump who has emerged as a clear frontrunner after garnering 51 per cent of the vote and marking a major victory in the first contest held in Iowa.

DeSantis said it can be clearly seen that a majority of Republican voters "want to give Donald Trump another chance".

He accepted "disagreements" with the former president, but added that Trump was "superior" to Biden, who is most likely to be the Democratic nominee in November's general election.

"I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee, and I will honour that pledge," said DeSantis.

Trump receives loud cheers after DeSantis's withdrawal

After DeSantis withdrew his candidacy and endorsed Trump on Sunday afternoon (Jan 21), Trump was greeted with loud cheers. Later, while addressing the people at a rally, Trump said that his former opponent Desantis was a "really terrific person", and added, "He ran a really good campaign, it's not easy."

DeSantis had earlier presented himself as the Republican candidate who could deliver the populist agenda of Trump without any baggage or drama.

Watch:US Elections 2024: Now Nikki Haley to take on Donald Trump

After the announcement was made by DeSantis, the Trump campaign appealed to all Republicans to rally in support of the US president, while criticising his former UN Ambassador as "the candidate of the globalists and Democrats who will do everything to stop the America First movement".

DeSantis also took a jibe at Haley and called her a member of "the old Republican guard of yesteryear - a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism".

Haley, who is a former South Carolina governor, in her response, insisted that she was the "only one" conservative candidate who can defeat Biden.

"There's two people in this race. That's what we wanted all along, and we're going to keep going," she said while speaking to CNN in New Hampshire.

(With inputs from agencies)