DeSantis dropping out just before Tuesday's New Hampshire primary — and immediately endorsing Trump — likely hurts Haley hours before a contest where the former UN ambassador needs to win or finish a strong second.
By pulling the plug on his campaign, the Florida governor struck the latest blow in his increasingly bitter fight with Haley.For months, DeSantis privately told donors Haley had no chance in a 1-on-1 race against Trump. His campaign seethed as many of them gave to Haley anyway.
The relationship between DeSantis and Haley became more and more tense as they battled to be the Republican alternative to Trump.
At a CNN debate in Iowa on Jan. 10, they accused each other of lying and hurled insults such as "mealy-mouthed" and "so desperate."A senior DeSantis aide told Axios that Haley was and is "irrelevant."
Last fall, DeSantis and his team tried to stop large donors from backing Haley, arguing she was going to spend most of the money attacking DeSantis — whose support would go to Trump, according to a person familiar with the conversations.
Part of that prediction has come true: Haley's main Super PAC spent more than $23 million on ads hitting DeSantis in Iowa and not Trump, per AdImpact.Even so, DeSantis edged out Haley for second place in the Iowa caucuses. Both finished well behind Trump.
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