DeSantis is giving up the presidential race

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is abandoning his bid to become the Republican presidential candidate and backing former President Donald Trump.

– I cannot ask our supporters to give their time and donate their resources if we do not have a clear path to victory. Therefore, today I am canceling my campaign, he says in a video on social media.

It is clear that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance, according to DeSantis, who is announcing his support for the former president.

Will honor promise

Although they previously had their disagreements, including during the corona pandemic, DeSantis believes that Trump is superior to current President Joe Biden, he says in the clip.

– I have promised to support the Republican candidate, and I will honor that promise.

Ron DeSantis was painted early on as a fresher and less scandal-ridden alternative to Trump. In May, he announced his bid to become the Republican nominee in the presidential election and was initially considered to have a good chance.

Anti-woke campaign

As governor of Florida, he has taken major political steps to the right, with tough abortion laws and a low threshold for imposing the death penalty. He has also fought to push through laws banning the teaching of sexual orientation and racism in schools.

His political campaign has largely become a crusade against what he calls the “woke ideology”, a political collective term for awareness of various injustices in society and which is seen by some as excessive political correctness.

The defection comes after Trump’s landslide victory in the Iowa caucuses a few days ago — a state DeSantis previously said he would win.

Now the former UN ambassador Nikki Haley remains as Trump’s only challenger in the primaries.