FOX News host Laura Ingraham called on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to withdraw from the Republican presidential primary, as former President Trump continues to lead in the polls. contended that there is little to be gained by remaining in the election race.
“It's time for some serious soul searching by Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis,” Ingraham said on Tuesday's “The Ingraham Angle.”
She pointed to DeSantis' performance in Monday night's Iowa caucuses, saying the Florida governor “has a lot to be proud of” after finishing second, just ahead of former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley. Stated.
DeSantis still trails Trump by nearly 30 points in Iowa, and Ingraham said the former president is “simply too strong” this election cycle for DeSantis to clinch the nomination. insisted.
“As a candidate, he tried so hard. And people forget how young he was. So with three more years as Florida governor, he could have even greater success in this very important state.” “We will be able to build on our track record,” Ingraham said. “So his future in the Republican Party may be very bright, but he won't be president this time.”
“That's not happening. Trump is simply too powerful and has endured too much,” Ingraham said.
Her comments came just hours before CNN's scheduled town hall with DeSantis in New Hampshire. New Hampshire will hold its primary next week.
Ms. Haley has outperformed Ms. DeSantis in the Granite State in recent weeks, closing the gap with Mr. Trump to nearly 8 points, according to polling indices from The Hill and Decision Desk Headquarters.
According to Tuesday's poll, Mr. Trump has about 41.4% support in New Hampshire, while Ms. Haley has about 33.4% support. Mr. DeSantis was once widely expected to be the No. 2 candidate in the Republican primary, but his approval rating has fallen to nearly 6% in key early voting states.
Ingraham argued that DeSantis staying in the race would harm his own political future, not Trump's.
“And every day Ron DeSantis continues to campaign criticizing Trump is a day that hurts Ron DeSantis' political future. He gets nothing out of it, that's for sure. And Mr. Trump I'm not hurt by that at all, so it's time to stand back and support Trump,” Ingraham said.
Earlier Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board published an article urging DeSantis to resign to give Haley a chance to defeat the former president.
The board said there was “no clear path in sight” for Mr. DeSantis to become the Republican nominee and that time was running out for voters to reverse Mr. Trump's lead.
“If he [DeSantis] As he says, he doesn't think Trump can win in November, so he thinks he should withdraw from the race and give Haley a chance to go one-on-one with Trump.” wrote the board.
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