INDIANOLA, Iowa — One night after their caucuses, former President Donald Trump and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley are reveling in high-priced endorsements.
While speaking to a packed room at Simpson University's Kent Campus Center on Sunday, President Trump surprised attendees with his 2024 opponent, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
“I'm here to do something that no other presidential primary candidate has ever done: support Donald J. Trump for president of the United States,” he told the excited crowd. declared.
“I've watched President Trump and what he's done, as a business leader and as a governor,” he added. “I've seen the difference President Trump makes.”
Burgum, a billionaire businessman, withdrew from the 2024 Republican primary early last month.
Not long after Mr. Burgum's surprise endorsement, Mr. Trump's other former rival, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), similarly endorsed the former president, albeit in a more subtle way.
Rubio endorsed Trump over Ron DeSantis, the governor of his home state of Florida, who was not mentioned in his social media endorsement.
“When Trump was president, [the White House] We were able to accomplish the major policies I've been working on for years, such as expanding the child tax credit and tough sanctions on the regimes in Cuba and Venezuela, because we had a president who didn't bend to special interests or get stonewalled by bureaucrats. ” Rubio posted on X. .
“I support Trump because such leadership is the only way we will get the extraordinary action needed to resolve the devastation Biden has caused. Defeat Biden and Save America.” It’s time to start working!”
Mr. Rubio was a fierce opponent of Mr. Trump in the 2016 Republican primary, and the two men exchanged nicknames and incendiary verbal exchanges during the campaign.
He took time to respond to Trump's call to keep his Senate seat after a contested presidential primary in 2016. Fellow Florida Sen. Rick Scott endorsed Trump last November.
On Sunday, Haley also received a high-profile endorsement from former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who gave her the official seal of approval.
“The purpose of this race is to try to nominate the strongest candidate in November,” Hogan said Sunday on CNN's “State of the Union.” “I’m confident Nikki Haley has momentum.”
Hogan, who is term-limited as governor and leaves office in January 2023, has emerged as one of the most outspoken opponents of Trump among Republicans.
At one point, his name was mentioned as a possible candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination, but he declined to step into the ring. Hogan has also been touted as a third-party candidate, but he downplays that.
Polls show Trump heading into Monday's Iowa caucuses as the favorite with an overwhelming lead.
After Iowa, the Republican primary will head to New Hampshire for the January 23 election.
