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Goodbye, Ron DeSantis?
The candidate at once reviled and hailed as the next Donald Trump is rumored to be on his way out of the race.
“Is DeSantis going to drop out of the race on Jan. 15?” wondered Douglas Mackinnon for The Hill on January 6, 2024.
“I have heard from two people very familiar with the DeSantis campaign — a major donor and a high-level political operative — that if the Florida governor loses the Iowa caucuses to former President Donald Trump as expected on the night of Jan. 15, he will either drop out of the race that night or make his announcement the next morning,” revealed Mackinnon.
“More than that, both believe DeSantis will then — very begrudgingly — endorse Trump for president,” Mackinnon speculated breathlessly.
Though the DeSantis campaign has “vigorously denied” this rumor, it persists. And while major media outlets have by and large been anti-DeSantis, now they seem almost wistful about the possibility of his returning to relative obscurity in Florida.
Media outlets in particlar enjoyed playing DeSantis against California Democrat and presidential hopeful, Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“DeSantis and Newsom Offer a Glimpse at an Alternate 2024 With No Trump or Biden Running,” waxed Phillip Elliott for Time Magazine on November 30, 2023.