Former President Donald Trump stopped by his campaign's New Hampshire headquarters on Sunday, shortly after his opponent, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, withdrew from the 2024 presidential race.
The former president spoke to Granite State volunteers and told the crowd on his way out that he would no longer refer to DeSantis as “Ron DeSanctimonious.”
“As you know…I'm retired,” Trump told the volunteers.
“Okay, I said earlier, do you want to use the name Ron Desanctimonius?” he added to the room of people. “I said, that name is officially retired. Thank you.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis withdraws from 2024 presidential election, supports Trump
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump prepares to take the stage during a campaign rally at the Rochester Opera House on January 21, 2024 in Rochester, New Hampshire. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Late Sunday night, President Trump told supporters in Rochester, New Hampshire, that his opponent “ran a really good campaign.”
“I'd like to take the time to congratulate Ron DeSantis and, of course, his wife, Casey, who are truly amazing people and ran a great campaign for president,” Trump said. “He did that. He ran a really great campaign.”
“I'm telling you, it's not easy,” he continued. “They think it's easy to do something like this, right? It's not easy.”
The former president also called DeSantis “compassionate” for expressing support for Trump.
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Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Rochester Opera House on January 21, 2024 in Rochester, New Hampshire. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Trump added: “He's been very kind and supportive of me and I appreciate that.” “I appreciate it, and I look forward to working with Ron and everyone else to defeat Crooked Joe Biden.”
“We're going to have to get rid of him,” the former president continued. “We have to go back. He put our country at great risk. So I want to thank Ron and congratulate him on a great job. It's a tough situation. It’s a big deal.”
Earlier Sunday, DeSantis announced the suspension of his campaign in an X video.
DESANTIS suspends the campaign.He has two days left until New Hampshire, and he has a two-person primary.
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Rochester Opera House on January 21, 2024 in Rochester, New Hampshire. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“The majority Republican primary voters “They want to give Donald Trump another chance,” the Florida governor said. “They saw his presidency hampered by persistent resistance, and they saw Democrats continue to use the law to this day.” I see them attacking him.”
“If there's anything I can do to create a favorable outcome, such as canceling more campaigns and doing more interviews, I will do it.” DeSantis said In video. “But we can’t get our supporters to donate their time and resources unless we have a clear path to victory.”
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Fox News Digital's Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
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