Ron DeSantis was the target of months of derision and scorn from Donald Trump, but on Sunday night, the Florida governor stopped his campaign for president and praised the outgoing leader, marking DeSantis as his newest ally. It has become a routine for Trump to accept support from those who have challenged him. But, it was noteworthy that Trump praised DeSantis at Sunday's event in New Hampshire without referring to him as "DeSantimonious" or "DeSanctus," ending what may have been the most acrimonious battle amongst Republicans running for president in 2024.

                                                                                                                          RON DESANTIS

 Trump began his speech by saying, "I just want to thank Ron and congratulate him on doing a very good job." He was so kind and gave me his blessing. Thank you for that, and I'm excited to collaborate with Ron. DeSantis was called "a terrific person" by Trump. DeSantis said via video earlier in the day that he would be suspending his candidacy two days before the nation's first-ever GOP primary in New Hampshire. Despite Trump's excitement on Sunday night, the endorsement wasn't very warm. "It's evident to me that the majority of Republican primary voters wish to offer Donald Trump another opportunity," DeSantis stated, delivering a detached appraisal while wearing a forced grin and excluding any compliments for the candidate.

He went on, "I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee, and I will honor that pledge," before making fun of Nikki Haley, the last competitor. The former governor of South Carolina and U.N. ambassador, according to DeSantis, is a stand-in for "the old Republican guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism." Trump gave off the impression that he was unaffected by DeSantis' strategy and that they were fellow political fighters. In Rochester on Sunday night, Trump remarked, "I will tell you it's not easy."

They believe that performing these things is simple, don't they? It's not simple. Then, without further ado, Trump launched into his standard rally address, hurling barbs at President Joe Biden, the political establishment, Washington's "warmongers" and "the deep state," as well as the criminal justice system, which has four times indicted him and has 91 felony charges pending in various trial stages. He spent a greater amount of time attacking Haley than praising DeSantis, portraying her as an instrument of the political establishment that he has disregarded. He pledged to reverse inflation and put an end to Russia's war in Ukraine, but he did not provide any specific ideas. Instead, he offered broad pledges of peace and prosperity. And he kept telling falsehoods about how fraud caused him to lose to Biden in 2020.

Throughout, a raucous audience in Rochester's old opera theater yelled, sang, and laughed. In response, Trump said, "The great silent majority is rising like never before." DeSantis has endorsed the former president along with other unsuccessful GOP candidates, including Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. Asa Hutchinson, the former governor of Arkansas, and Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, both suspended their campaigns and refused to support Trump; on Saturday, Hutchinson backed Haley.

On Sunday night, 64-year-old Brenda Moneypenny of Alton waited two hours in the cold to see Trump. Moneypenny said she had given Haley some thought, particularly because of the opportunity to elect the first female president, and she quickly produced her driver's license to verify her last name. But the independent with a Republican-leaning says she never gave DeSantis a thought. Of the governor, Moneypenny said, "Too flim-flamsy." "He needs more capable campaign staff. There isn't anybody giving him any favors at the moment. She finally decided on Trump, calling him "tried and true."

Throughout the campaign, the former president appeared to take great pleasure in making fun of DeSantis, frequently expressing that he had a personal grievance because he saw the governor's choice to run as a betrayal of his trust. DeSantis, a congressman at the time, received Trump's support in the fierce 2018 GOP primary for governor of Florida. In the end, DeSantis prevailed in both the primary and general elections. However, DeSantis was preparing for his own White House candidacy by the time he easily won reelection four years later. In November of last year, Trump visited Florida and spoke to an animated group of people at a state GOP gathering while holding a placard that said, "Florida is Trump Country."

 Trump did not bring up DeSantis during his address that evening until over thirty minutes into it. Even then, it was only to boast about his advantages over the governor according to surveys. Trump said that DeSantis had pleaded with him for his support, saying, "I endorsed him, and he became a rocket ship in 24 hours." He now resembles an injured bird that is plummeting from the sky. Trump refrained from debating DeSantis or any other opponent in 2024. Until someone demonstrates that they pose a danger to his candidacy, he has stated he won't. In recent months, DeSantis has focused his campaign mostly in Iowa, where he placed second in last week's caucuses, trailing Trump by 30 percentage points and just ahead of Haley.

Haley, meanwhile, has long prioritized New Hampshire as a potential springboard ahead of her home-state South Carolina primary next month. In Iowa, APVoteCast surveys of caucusgoers suggested DeSantis's supporters were much more likely than Haley's to consider themselves conservatives who would back Trump no matter what if he wins the nomination and faces President Joe Biden in November. If that trend holds in New Hampshire, then Trump could expect at least some boost from DeSantis dropping out, and whatever he gets could stretch out his margin and frustrate Haley's ability to claim any momentum.

Trump's advisors have stated that they anticipate a significant movement in DeSantis' national support toward Trump. On Sunday, Trump said that he had won the 2016 primary in New Hampshire by almost 20 points. In general elections, he was defeated twice in the battleground state. Trump will be balancing the pressures of running for another term with his legal issues in the final hours of the New Hampshire campaign. Trump will be in New York on Monday for a civil defamation trial related to a columnist's allegations that he molested her.

After that, he has an evening rally in Laconia slated when he returns to New Hampshire. He remarked, "I don't have to be there," about the judicial procedures. "I'd appreciate your prayers. But see, things are as they are. His first criminal trial is set to start on March 5, the day before the Super Tuesday primary slate, on allegations that he is accountable for his followers' attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. It's a shame, according to Trump.