As the nickname “DeSanctimonious” fades in the fog of political monikers, former President Donald Trump says he only wants to talk about Republican unity.
“That name has been officially retired,” Trump said Sunday, according to Fox News.
Trump’s comments came after Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ended his quest for the Republican presidential nomination and endorsed Trump.
🚨President Trump officially retires the name “DeSanctimonious.” He will return to being known as GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS.
Time for unity!
We must defeat America last @NikkiHaley and then crush crooked Joe Biden!
— Alex Bruesewitz 🇺🇸 (@alexbruesewitz) January 21, 2024
“Very honored to have his endorsement,” Trump said.
“I look forward to working together with him to beat Joe Biden, who is the worst and most corrupt president in the history of our country,” he said.
“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” DeSantis said in a video posted to X.
“They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance, and they see Democrats using lawfare to this day to attack him,” he said.
“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
Would you support DeSantis as Trump’s VP?
DeSantis said he has his differences with Trump but added, “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 repackage formed of warmed-over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents,” DeSantis said.
Prior to DeSantis leaving the race, Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida said it was critical that the wounds of the primary heal, according to the New York Post.
“We can’t win if we’re divided,” Gaetz said.
“We already have the big media against us, big tech, big government, a lot of the big donors and big businesses. If we do unite, there are still more of us,” he said.
“I remember the good old days when I was Ron DeSantis, his transition chairman, and he and President Trump worked so well together,” Gaetz said, adding, “I hate when mom and dad fight.”
After his Iowa victory, Trump had issued a call for unity.
“I really think this is time now for everybody, our country, to come together,” Trump said after winning 51 percent of the vote in Iowa, according to Fox News.
“We want to come together, whether it’s a Republican or a Democrat or liberal or conservative. It would be so nice if we could come together and straighten out the world and straighten out the problems and straighten out all of the death and destruction that we’re witnessing,” he said then
DeSantis’s departure from the race means Trump faces only former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary.
Haley responded to the Florida governor’s withdrawal by saying “may the best woman win,” during a rally Sunday, according to a post on X.
