Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ended his 2024 presidential race on 21 January and endorsed former president Donald Trump. A week after Indian-origin Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out of the presidential race.
DeSantis had a disappointing result in the Iowa caucus. He finished second place but trailed Donald Trump by a large margin.
“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance," DeSantis said in a video posted on X (formerly Twitter).
DeSantis, a US Navy veteran, had vocally backed Trump during his past two election bids for 2016 and 2020, the former of which he had won
“Trump is superior to the current incumbent Joe Biden. That is clear,” DeSantis said. “I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee and I will honor that pledge. He has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican Guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents.”
Donald Trump and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley are the only two major candidates left for the race ahead of Tuesday, 23 January, New Hampshire's primary.
In May 2023, former military officer Ron DeSantis had announced his bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination in a live-streamed Twitter chat with the platform’s owner, Elon Musk.
Who is Ron DeSantis?
A Harvard Law School graduate, the Florida-born politician first ran for Congress in 2012, after which was elected to Congress thrice. He served in the US Navy, during which he went to Iraq and Guantanamo Bay.
The Republican governor boasts deep midwestern roots, a sizeable campaign fund, an “anti-woke” agenda, a list of ultra-conservative legislative wins and a record of election victories, and his easy sweep in Florida last year.
DeSantis’ War on “Woke”
Known for his ultra-conservative record as governor of Florida, DeSantis has proposed using his work in his state as the blueprint for the country. He has positioned himself as a Republican candidate who can effectively implement right-wing policies in the US.
In an interview with Fox News, DeSantis attacked the American left, saying, “The woke mind virus is basically a form of Cultural Marxism. At the end of the day, it's an attack on the truth, and because it's a war on truth, I think we have no choice but to wage a war on woke."
His biggest policy highlights include signing laws that ban LGBTQ education in public schools, defunding diversity, equity and inclusion programmes at colleges and universities, banning abortions at six weeks, enacting a law which allows residents of Florida to carry a concealed firearm without a permit and a public feud with Disney.
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