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Reactions pour in after DeSantis ends White House bid

January 22, 2024 | | Print Article

The suspension of one presidential campaign signaled a broader end entirely as reactions to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ move left many suggesting “the decision is now simple.”

The statesman from the Sunshine State, whose conservative leadership had earned him the moniker of America’s Governor, officially ended his race to earn the Republican nomination for president Sunday. Citing prayer and deliberation, and thanking his family and supporters, DeSantis held to his word in backing former President Donald Trump as he stepped aside to the will of voters.

In a message that spoke to exceeding commonality over certain differences, the Florida executive pushed for a purposeful unity as he acknowledged, “While I’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 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,” asserted DeSantis in his broader remarks.

Leading voices among conservatives, even many who had fully supported the successful governor’s bid for the White House, agreed with his move to end his campaign as well as the manner and timing of his decision.

Syndicated radio host Mark Levin said, “Ron DeSantis is a great patriot and class act. He’s a solid, principled conservative and a kind and decent man. He’s a superb governor and has a great future. The Governor did the right thing in suspending his campaign and endorsing President Trump. Nikki Haley must and will be defeated. Then on to Biden, who is destroying our magnificent country, and the election of President Trump, who will reverse America’s decline at the hands of the radical democrats.”

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Newsweek senior editor-at-large Josh Hammer had a similar message as he summed up, “I preferred DeSantis to Trump. But it was clear from the get-go they were the only two people running for president this cycle possibly worth supporting. One of them is out; one of them remains.”

“So the decision is now simple,” wrote the columnist. “Don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be.”

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Getting ahead of the torrent of mixed reactions that included lauding of DeSantis and contempt that he’d run in the first place, syndicated radio host Jesse Kelly said, “There will be a million eulogies for the DeSantis campaign and almost all of them will be wrong and laced with bias. Simple truth is you cannot fight the ocean. No candidate or campaign was going to defeat an indicted Trump. Period.”

To his point, social media sounded off in a full spectrum that still centered around the need for unity against the ever-widening spread of leftist ideologies throughout government and society at large, including Trump himself who said in part, “I look forward to working with Ron and everybody else to defeat Crooked Joe Biden.”

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Kevin Haggerty
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