DeSantis slams Nikki Haley as a ‘repackaged form of warmed over corporatism’ and says it’s clear Republicans want to give Trump a ‘second chance’ in farewell video channeling Winston Churchill

Ron DeSantis denounced Nikki Haley and endorsed Donald Trump on Sunday as he ended his presidential campaign, throwing his support behind the man who helped him become governor rather than the former president’s only viable deputy.

DeSantis’ blessing on Trump comes two days after he spent time in New Hampshire questioning the former president’s ability to win the general election against Joe Biden.

But in his video announcement that he was withdrawing from the race for the Republican nomination, DeSantis noted: “It is clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance. They saw how his presidency was stymied by brutal resistance and they saw how Democrats continue to use the law to attack him to this day.”

“Trump is superior to the current incumbent President, Joe Biden. That is obvious. “I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee and I will keep that pledge.”

DeSantis quit three days before New Hampshire held its first primary in the country. The Florida governor was third in the polls. After failing to win Iowa — and with Nikki Haley’s home state of South Carolina next in the primary process — it was unclear where DeSantis had a path to the nomination.

In his video he quoted Winston Churchill and thanked his family, especially his wife Casey, for their support.

In his support of the former president, DeSantis acknowledged that he had “disagreements with Donald Trump,” but used his support of the former president to launch an attack on their Republican rival Nikki Haley.

“He has my support because we cannot go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear — a repackaged form of reheated corporatism — that Nikki Haley represents,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis concluded his video message with a quote from Winston Churchill, the wartime prime minister who helped save England during World War II, and thanked his family.

‘Winston Churchill once noted that ‘success is not final, and failure is not fatal – it is the courage to persevere that counts.’ While this campaign has ended, the mission continues,” he said.

“I want to thank my wife Casey and our children Madison, Mason and Mamie. Casey has gone above and beyond in her support of our campaign and our cause. She is not only a wonderful wife and mother; she is a great American who cares deeply about the future of the country our children will inherit,” DeSantis said.

“Our children saw and did a lot along the way, from playing at the famous Field of Dreams baseball field in Iowa to building their first snowman in New Hampshire.”

He added: “They are one of the reasons we fight so hard for what we believe in.”

Ron DeSantis attacked Nikki Haley in his statement: ‘We cannot go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear – a repackaged form of reheated corporatism – that Nikki Haley represents’

DeSantis had been a critic of Donald Trump before endorsing him

DeSantis’ endorsement of Trump came after he repeatedly criticized the former president, questioning his age and claiming he would inspire Democrats to come out en masse to support Biden.

Trump, for his part, nicknamed his rival DeSantimonious, and had repeatedly lambasted DeSantis for standing up to him when Trump’s endorsement of then-Rep. DeSantis helped propel DeSantis to the Florida governor’s mansion.

“I haven’t even mentioned Ron DeSanctimonious’ name yet – I think he’s gone,” Trump said at his rally in Manchester on Saturday evening.

DeSantis had not held back in his attacks.

“You can be the shittiest Republican in America, if you kiss the ring, Trump will say you’re great,” he said during his campaign six days ago.

And DeSantis warned about Trump’s electability while campaigning in Iowa on Friday, saying low Republican turnout at the Iowa caucuses, which the former president won by 30 points, was a warning sign.

“It’s a warning sign for the party in November because turnout was so terribly low,” he said. ‘There is a terrible enthusiasm at the moment.’

“You’ve got some people on our side who don’t want to do that Trump thing again, and they’ve checked out and left the caucus,” DeSantis noted.

The 110,000 voters who participated in the 2024 Iowa caucuses represent just under 15% of the state’s 752,000 registered Republicans, according to the results. And it’s a much lower number than the 186,000 released in 2016.

DeSantis acknowledged that it was cold and snowy in Iowa, but still argued that was a bad sign.

“The question is what does that mean for November and how will or will not energize the Republican base,” he said.

“We know that Democrats would probably not be energized by Biden if there were no Trump nomination. I think they would have problems with turnout, but I think we also know that if Trump is the nominee, I think you’ll see a big uptick in Democratic enthusiasm, and I think that will give them an advantage. ‘

In his statement, DeSantis thanked his wife Casey DeSantis and their children Madison, Mamie and Mason – above the DeSantis family at the Iowa State Fair

Haley has issued similar warnings about the former president, saying “chaos and drama” follow him everywhere.

“I’ve said it time and time again: rightly or wrongly, chaos and drama follow him,” she said Thursday in New Hampshire. ‘My style is different. No revenge, no drama, no revenge.”

The results from New Hampshire will be looked at Tuesday as a measure of enthusiasm for the former president among Republican voters. The state’s weather is below freezing, but otherwise free of rain and snow.