Former President Donald Trump announced after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s departure from the presidential race that he was officially retiring his nickname for the Florida Republican, “Ron DeSanctimonious.”
Earlier, Mr. DeSantis dropped out of the race, saying he had no path to victory after failing to achieve a significant upset in Iowa. He immediately endorsed President Trump.
President Trump’s campaign responded to the departure graciously, thanking the Florida governor for his endorsement and calling on the Republican Party to come together behind the clear frontrunner.
“With only a few days left until President Donald J. Trump’s victory in New Hampshire, we are honored by the endorsement from Governor Ron DeSantis and so many other former presidential candidates,” a statement emailed to President Trump’s supporters read.
The campaign repeated calls from the 45th president and others for the GOP to come together behind President Trump and focus their attention on defeating President Joe Biden.
“It is now time for all Republicans to rally behind President Trump to defeat Crooked Joe Biden and end his disastrous presidency.”
Asked whether he would continue using his nickname for Mr. DeSantis, President Trump announced, “That nickname is officially retired.”
The announcement was met with a chorus of cheers from those in attendance, and marks a potential first step in a rapprochement between the two, who were once close allies.
Mr. DeSantis’s 2018 gubernatorial victory in Florida was aided greatly by President Trump’s endorsement.
However, when Mr. DeSantis announced last year that he was running for president against his ally, President Trump saw the move as a betrayal.
Initially, Mr. DeSantis was seen as the best choice to pull off an upset against President Trump, being seen by many as a “Trump lite.”
But despite a strong early lead in polling, Mr. DeSantis’s campaign later stagnated.
Though he limped to a second-place finish in Iowa with 21 percent support, he fell far short of President Trump’s record-shattering 51 percent victory in the state.
With only days until the second presidential contest in New Hampshire, Mr. DeSantis was polling at less than 7 percent support in the Granite State. And as President Trump continues to dominate upcoming contests in the polls, it became obvious that Mr. DeSantis had no path to the nomination.
Still, President Trump has been known to make peace with former adversaries, like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who once opposed him.
With Mr. DeSantis’s departure, only two contenders—President Trump and his former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley—remain in the race, where President Trump remains the clear frontrunner for the nomination.
On the other hand, Ms. Haley has shown strong support in New Hampshire, a state that’s more moderate and less religious than Iowa.
While most indications point to President Trump’s victory in the state, some polls still show a tight race between the two.
But with Mr. DeSantis backing out of the race and endorsing President Trump, it’s likely that most of his support will go to the future president in later contests, bolstering President Trump’s lead.
