Ron DeSantis withdraws from 2024 US presidential race. Who is he?

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Sunday (Jan 21) withdrew from the upcoming United States presidential race and endorsed his fellow Republican Donald Trump. DeSantis, 45, had been widely seen as a top contender for the Republican nomination and a natural heir to Trump due to his combative style and deeply conservative views. However, he dropped out of the race, nearly a week after Vivek Ramaswamy ended his presidential bid.

According to a report bynews agency Reuters, DeSantis' support had been declining in recent months due to flawed campaign strategy, his seeming lack of ease with voters on the campaign trail, and Trump's so far unshakeable hold on much of the party's base.

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"We've had disagreements with Donald Trump, such as on the coronavirus pandemic and his elevation of Anthony Fauci. Trump is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clear. I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee, and I will honour that pledge," DeSantis said on Sunday as he announced his suspension from the presidential campaign.

"He (Trump) has my endorsement because we can't go back to the old Republican Guard of yesteryear, a repackage formed of warmed-over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents," the Florida governor added.

Who is Ron DeSantis?

DeSantis was born in Jacksonville, Florida on Sept 14, 1978. After completing his schooling, DeSantis studied for his bachelor's in history at Yale University, graduating in 2001, and then went on to study at Harvard Law School, graduating in 2005.

While at Harvard Law School, he was commissioned as an officer in the US Navy and, upon graduation, joined the service's Judge Advocate General Corps as an attorney.

In that role, DeSantis was assigned to the military prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he oversaw the treatment of detainees. Later, he was deployed to Iraq to advise a team of Navy SEALs.

After active-duty service, Ron served as a federal prosecutor. Following his time in the navy, DeSantis along with his two friends from law school, founded a Law School Admission Test (LSAT) preparation company called LSAT Freedom.

Entry in politics

DeSantis worked briefly as an assistant US attorney in Florida before a successful bid for a UScongressional seat in 2012. He served in Congress before running for governor in 2018.

He became Florida's governor in 2019. Reuters reported that DeSantis was largelyunknown in Florida when he sought the governor's office and was not favoured to win the Republican nomination. However, an endorsement from Trump, who was then the US president, helped DeSantis ultimately win the election in Nov 2018.

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DeSantis was reelected as governor four years later. Trump has taken credit for DeSantis' win since he endorsed him and accused the Florida governor of being disloyal for considering challenging him for the presidential nomination.

Views on policies

DeSantis has opposed many of the policies advocated by the US government to prevent the spread of Covid such as wearing masks and vaccine mandates. Last year, he announced a proposal to ban Covid mandates in Florida. His proposal included permanently banning masks throughout the state, prohibiting mask and vaccine requirements in schools, and prohibiting employers from hiring or firing based on Covid vaccines.

DeSantis is a persistent critic of federal immigration policies. He has pushed the state legislature to pass prohibitions against the teaching of "Critical Race Theory."

The governor has also been embroiled in a public fight with Disney, which had been critical of his efforts to limit school instruction on gender identity.

(With inputs from agencies)