DeSantis Scorches Nikki Haley For Refusing To Endorse Trump: ‘You Signed The Pledge’

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis leveled criticism at former GOP candidate Nikki Haley for her refusal to endorse Donald Trump following the suspension of her campaign. This comes as the GOP grapples with its direction and leadership ahead of the 2028 presidential race, post-Donald Trump.

Governor DeSantis, who is increasingly viewed as a frontrunner for the GOP’s 2028 nomination, revealed his disapproval during a candid interview with Newsmax.

“Well, first, just on the debate, you know, I was saying that Newsmax should have had a debate. So, I was game for that. The RNC didn’t do that, but yeah, I signed the pledge,” DeSantis responded. “And you sign the pledge saying that you’re going to not take your ball and go home. So, I honored the pledge.”

“She’s gonna have to make a decision about whether she wants to or not, but the idea that somehow circumstances have changed, I think we all knew what we were doing when we did that,” he added.

WATCH:

“You’ve got to make a judgment about whether that’s meaningful to you. And so for me, I tell people, if I say I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it,” he concluded.

Haley’s refusal to endorse Trump after suspending her own presidential campaign has stirred some debate within the Republican Party. Haley officially ended her presidential run earlier this week, capping a long-shot effort to deny, or at least delay Trump as the party’s nomination.

The former South Carolina governor and lone challenger for the former president ended her presidential run Wednesday morning after winning just a single Republican primary in Vermont on Super Tuesday. She made the announcement in her hometown of Charlestown, South Carolina, the site where she began her improbable bid.

More than a third of all Republican delegates were up for grabs on Super Tuesday, with Trump nabbing 14 of the 15 elections. At least 1,215 delegates are needed to secure the GOP’s nomination, and the former president has secured 995 of those already pledged. Haley, having won just Vermont and a small primary in Washington, D.C., holds just 89.

Allies of President Trump were quick to crow about Tuesday’s results as they looked to cement the seemingly inevitable possibility of a showdown with President Joe Biden.

WATCH:

“I do think it is time for her to step aside and let the party rally fully around Donald Trump so that he can take Joe Biden on and beat him in November,” Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a former Trump spokesperson, told Fox following Tuesday’s results.

For weeks, Haley attempted to drum up enthusiasm in the face of long odds. Even Tuesday night, she insisted that there was still a fight to be had against her leading rival. “As much as everybody wants to go and push me out, I’m not ready to get out yet. I’m still sitting there fighting for the people that want a voice,” Haley claimed.

Her campaign added in a late-night statement, “We’re honored to have received the support of millions of Americans across the country today, including in Vermont where Nikki became the first Republican woman to win two presidential primary contests.”