Ron DeSantis Ends 2024 Run, Endorses Trump

Image copyright: Brandon Bell/Getty Images News via Getty Images

The Facts

  • Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the 2024 presidential race on Sunday, stating he couldn't see "a clear path to victory." He instead endorsed Republican frontrunner, former president Donald Trump.

  • The 45-year-old's decision follows poll results that showed him as a distant third among GOP candidates, behind Trump and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, in the upcoming New Hampshire primary.


The Spin

Left narrative

Ron DeSantis had many attractive qualities to GOP voters — age, popularity, military experience, and even an Ivy League education. He is a star Republican governor of Florida, even besides his reputation as a competent politician and intellectual. Yet, his campaign never really took off, primarily because such old-world attributes don't count for much in the modern political landscape. Trump's campaign plays on divisions, which will see him jettisoned to the top of the GOP primaries to the detriment of US society.

Pro-Trump narrative

Ron DeSantis isn't a "people person" as far as opinions are concerned. To that extent, he is unfit to be a prominent politician, let alone president of the US. He tried being a bit of everything — Reagan, Trump, and even Viktor Orban. Yet, his sclerotic campaign's lack of originality reflected this state of play to voters. He got further in the presidential race than he deserved, especially against Donald Trump.


Metaculus Prediction


Establishment split

CRITICAL

PRO

More neutral establishment stance articles