It's Trump vs Haley as Ron DeSantis drops out from GOP primary, endorses US ex-prez for 2024

Nikki Haley is the only Republican left in the race against Donald Trump after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced to withdraw from the GOP’s presidential primary race and endorse the former US president as the party’s nominee.

DeSantis was once seen as a formidable challenge to Trump.

A report by PTI cited political pundits saying the former US president is set to be the GOP’s nominee and the November 2024 presidential elections will be a repeat of 2020 polls: Trump vs Biden.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

– Winston Churchill pic.twitter.com/ECoR8YeiMm

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) January 21, 2024

After DeSantis pulled out of the race, former governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley, 51, is the only Republican left in the race against Trump, 77, who has been seeking to enter the White House for the second term.

A White House occupant from January 2017 to January 2021, Trump lost to incumbent Joe Biden in 2020 elections.

Last week, Trump, so far the most popular Republican presidential candidate with a majority of the party members supporting him, as per all major polls, won the Iowa Caucus and is leading in the New Hampshire primaries which is scheduled for 23 January.

"Following our second-place finish in Iowa, we've prayed and deliberated on our way forward. If there was anything I could do to produce a favourable outcome, more campaign stops, more interviews, I would do it. But I can't ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don't have a clear path to victory. Accordingly, I am today suspending my campaign," DeSantis said in a video message posted on X (formerly Twitter).

"It's clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance. While I have 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," DeSantis said.

"I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee and I will honour 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," he added.

Trump welcomes dropout by DeSantis

The Trump campaign welcomed the dropout by DeSantis. With only a few days left until president Donald J Trump's victory in New Hampshire, we are honoured by the endorsement from Governor Ron DeSantis and so many other former presidential candidates. It is now time for all Republicans to rally behind president Trump to defeat crooked Joe Biden and end his disastrous presidency, his campaign said.

Nikki Haley is the candidate of the globalists and Democrats who will do everything to stop the America First movement. From higher taxes, to decimating Social Security and Medicare, and to open borders, she represents the views of Democrats more than the views of Republicans, the campaign said criticising Haley.

“It’s time to choose wisely.” pic.twitter.com/R0izQdl4LD

— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) January 21, 2024

Haley to stay in the race

Haley, meanwhile, insisted that she will stay in the race. "I want to say to Ron: he ran a great race. He's been a good governor. And we wish him well. Having said that, it's now one fella and one lady left," she said at a campaign event in New Hampshire.

In a statement, she said that so far only one state has voted. Half of its votes went to Trump, and half did not.

"We're not a country of coronations. Voters deserve a say in whether we go down the road of Trump and Biden again, or we go down a new conservative road. New Hampshire voters will have their say on Tuesday. When I'm president, I will do everything in my power to show them they made the right decision," Haley said.

Haley needs to dropout to save herself from humiliation

A memo issued by the Trump Campaign said Haley needs to dropout of the race to save herself from humiliation.

"Now that we are a mere 48 hours from the Primary, the tone has shifted mightily. We see it, you see it, but make no mistake, if Nikki Haley loses in New Hampshire - there are only two options," said the memo issued by the Trump Campaign.

Option A: Nikki Haley drops out, unites behind President Trump, and commits to defeating Joe Biden (where, in the latest Harvard-Harris poll, Trump bests Biden by double the margin a now-fictional Haley vs Biden match-up would be), it said.

Option B: Nikki Haley prepares to be absolutely DEMOLISHED and EMBARRASSED in her home state of South Carolina after she gets zippo votes or delegates in Nevada, because Haley entered the Nevada Primary, rather than the Nevada Caucus, where 100% of the state's delegates are actually awarded, it said.