(Washington) Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, once seen as the main rival to Donald Trump on the road to the Republican nomination, announced on Sunday that he was throwing in the towel and rallying behind the billionaire for the November presidential election. .
“I am suspending my campaign today,” Ron DeSantis said in a video published on X. “It is clear to me that the majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance. »
Ron DeSantis, with tough positions on immigration and abortion, came second in the Iowa caucuses on Monday, far behind Donald Trump, with 21% of the vote against 51% for the former president.
“I cannot ask our volunteers to give their time and money if we do not have a clear path to victory,” he justified in his video, in front of American flags.
“I have had disagreements with Donald Trump, like on the coronavirus pandemic,” but “Trump is better than the current incumbent, Joe Biden,” added the 45-year-old.
His announcement comes two days before the primary in the American state of New Hampshire, where polls placed him far behind.
Her withdrawal from the race makes former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley the final obstacle to nominating ultra-favorite Donald Trump as her party’s nominee.
“I want to tell Ron that he ran a very good campaign,” responded Nikki Haley, according to a video from American media in New Hampshire, and re-shared by the candidate.
“From now on, there is only one guy and one lady left” in the race, she stressed.
Lack of charisma
Black American senator Tim Scott also threw in the towel this week and announced his support for Donald Trump.
Often described as the rising star of his party last year, Ron DeSantis has gradually lost the dynamic that had carried him.
He had already canceled all his television interviews this weekend, suggesting his decision.
PHOTO REBA SALDANHA, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
The boss of the “Sunshine State” has made Florida a laboratory for conservative ideas. He made headlines in American newspapers with his fight against supposed “right thinking”.
He made a name for himself nationally during the COVID-19 pandemic with rhetoric hostile to health measures.
He also joined other Republican state governors in sending migrants to Democratic cities in the north and east of the country.
But the lack of charisma of this man with a compact physique and rare smile was also criticized during the campaign.