#德桑蒂斯宣布退出美国总统竞选#
Just as Trump was menacing, his biggest rival in the Republican Party, Florida Governor DeSantis, suddenly announced that he would withdraw from the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
According to Xinhua News Agency, Florida Governor DeSantis posted a video on social media on the 21st, announcing the termination of the 2024 presidential campaign and instead supporting former President Trump's candidacy.
It cannot be said that it is exactly the same, it can be said that it is completely consistent
DeSantis is Trump's biggest challenger in the Republican Party and has always been known for imitating Trump's words and deeds, and has been nicknamed "Florida Trump." In addition, he is a former political ally of Trump, who was endorsed by Trump when DeSantis ran for governor of Florida in 2018, and the "close friendship" between the two sides broke down until DeSantis intended to run for president.
DeSantis has long been second only to Trump in the Republican Party, and major pollsters and media believe that he is the only Republican who has the potential to defeat Trump. In May last year, the high-spirited DeSantis announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election in a high-profile manner, causing strong dissatisfaction among Trump, and the two sides once broke out a scolding war, Trump called DeSantis's candidacy "a naked betrayal."
"DeSantis is still a rich man"
However, after the official announcement that he would run for president, DeSantis's "good luck" ended here. Although DeSantis is regarded as the "second person" in the Republican Party after Trump, his influence outside of Florida is somewhat "lacking in stamina".
In the New Hampshire primary, Trump's approval rating was 50 percent, while DeSantis' approval rating was only a single-digit 6 percent, even less than that of another Republican candidate, Nikki Haley (39 percent).
Coming to this point, it basically means that DeSantis's "presidential dream" is out of play, and on the 21st, he admitted in a video speech that now "I can't see a clear path to victory", and most Republican voters still "want to give Trump another chance".
However, while DeSantis famously justified his withdrawal, his defeat was foreshadowed. As mentioned above, DeSantis has lived in the shadow of Trump from beginning to end, from his words and deeds on the campaign trail to the election slogan, DeSantis is completely a "copy" of Trump:
Trump: DeSantis still wants to imitate me?
Trump accused the Democratic Party of "stealing the results of the 2020 election", and DeSantis, who has no conflict with Biden, also hyped up the topic of "election fraud" and advocated that Biden should be "sent home";
Trump incited populism and bombarded the Democratic Party's pluralistic values, and DeSantis took Disney, a big taxpayer in Florida and a pro-Democrat, to "cut the knife";
Trump provoked Sino-US trade frictions and "demonized" China, and DeSantis also learned to play the "China card" and restricted Chinese citizens from buying Florida houses and land assets, causing strong dissatisfaction among American real estate giants......
It can be said that in addition to being almost completely remodeled as Trump, DeSantis's every move is plagiarizing Trump, and for Republican voters, since DeSantis is no different from Trump, why did they choose a "fake Trump"?
Now only Haley is competing with Trump
So, since deciding to run for president, DeSantis's defeat has long been doomed: on the one hand, DeSantis's influence cannot leave Florida at all, and conservative voters outside Florida prefer to vote for the real Trump rather than his imitators, while establishment voters favor Nikki Haley rather than populist politicians like DeSantis.
On the other hand, DeSantis's previous bill to suppress Disney and restrict Chinese housing purchases has offended many funders, and the U.S. election is precisely based on the "money ability", and last year, the "Politis" website said that insufficient campaign funds have been plaguing DeSantis, and his "financing" ability is completely inferior to Trump's.
The New York Times believes that DeSantis' departure will push conservative voters who support him to Trump, and it will be difficult for Haley, who is supported by the establishment alone, to defeat Trump, who has received "double blessings".