DONALD TRUMP HAS celebrated rival Ron DeSantis’ decision to end his presidential campaign and endorse the former president.

At a rally in New Hampshire yesterday, Trump congratulated the Florida Governor on “a very good job”, and thanked him.  

“He was very gracious, and he endorsed me. I appreciate that, and I also look forward to working with Ron,” Trump said. 

He added that DeSantis is a “really terrific person”, after directing a lot of blunt criticism towards his fellow candidate during his campaign.

Mr DeSantis said via video yesterday that he would be ending his campaign two days before New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation Republican primary.

“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” DeSantis said, offering matter-of-fact analysis through a forced smile without adding plaudits for Trump.

“I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee, and I will honour that pledge,” he continued, before adding a dig at the remaining contender, Nikki Haley.

DeSantis described Haley a stand-in for “the old Republican guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism”.

Trump, the firm frontrunner for the Republican nomination even reflected on the challenges of campaigning in the US presidential race during his speech yesterday, in light of DeSantis’ decision to end his campaign.

“I will tell you it’s not easy,” Trump said on Sunday night in Rochester.

“They think it’s easy doing this stuff, right? It’s not easy.”

JUST IN: Donald Trump says that he has officially retired the name 'Ron
DeSanctimonious' after DeSantis dropped out and endorsed him for president. pic.twitter.com/xrovVZPtgW

— Collin Silvers (@collinsilvs) January 22, 2024

DeSantis concentrated his campaign in recent months in Iowa, where he finished in second place in last week’s caucuses — 30 percentage points behind Trump and barely ahead of Haley.

Haley, meanwhile, has long prioritised New Hampshire as a potential springboard ahead of her home-state South Carolina primary next month.

In Iowa, an APVoteCast surveys of voters suggested Mr DeSantis’s supporters were much more likely than Ms Haley’s to consider themselves conservatives who would back Trump no matter what if he wins the nomination and faces President Joe Biden in November.

If that trend holds in New Hampshire, then Trump could expect at least some boost from DeSantis dropping out, and whatever he gets could stretch out his margin and frustrate Haley’s ability to claim any momentum.

Trump’s aides have said they expect Mr DeSantis’ support around the country will shift heavily to Mr Trump.

Trump noted on Sunday that he won New Hampshire’s 2016 primary by about 20 points. He lost the battleground state twice in general elections.