Nikki Haley celebrated Ron DeSantis dropping out of the presidential race with support from Judge Judy, telling a cheering crowd ‘that is the sound of a two-person race.’
Judith Sheindlin, 81 – better known as Judge Judy – took to the stage to introduce and endorse Haley at a rally in a New Hampshire high school just hours after DeSantis announced his withdrawal from the White House race.
‘It’s time for Nikki Haley, this is her moment. She is a star… This woman is the real deal,’ Sheindlin said.
The pair shared a hug as the crowd cheered and Haley said: ‘Can you hear that sound? That’s the sound of a two-person race.’
Haley was speaking hours after DeSantis dropped out of the presidential race in a surprise video where he threw his support behind Donald Trump and slammed Haley just two days before the New Hampshire primary.
Nikki Haley thanked Judge Judy for introducing her, saying: ‘She’s a trailblazer. She’s tough. She speaks hard truths.’
Haley and Judge Judy embraced on stage at a rally in a high school in Exeter, New Hampshire
Judge Judy threw her support behind Nikki Haley just hours after Ron DeSantis pulled out of the race to the White House
The Florida Governor, once considered the future of the Republican party and initially the favorite to take down Trump, announced he was suspending his campaign in a surprise video Sunday afternoon.
‘We don’t have a clear path to victory,’ DeSantis said in the video posted to X announcing his departure from the race. ‘Accordingly, I am today suspending my campaign.’
The video was widely mocked for misquoting Winston Churchill.
He signed off his campaign with the quote: ‘Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.’ But the motivational words, which he attributed to Churchill, were never actually used by the statesman.
His withdrawal followed mounting speculation that donors were fleeing and his campaign was struggling to find a path to make a dent in Trump’s huge polling lead.
It leaves just Haley and Trump left in the race to be the Republican candidate and while Haley trails Trump in the polls, her supporters in Exeter on Sunday were still jubilant.
Sheindlin travelled from Florida to support Haley, saying: ‘I travelled 1,700 miles to be with you tonight but I came because I have kids, I have grandchildren and I have a great grandchild, and I’m concerned for the future of America.
I’ve seen a lot of politicians come and go during my life, and I am not someone who suffers fools
Judy kissed Haley’s hand as she welcomed her to the stage
Haley hugged Judge Judy as she thanked her for endorsing her
The pair embraced as Judge Judy endorsed Haley
‘We are at a crossroads and for me finding the person that we can be proud of not only domestically, but on the national stage in 2024 is probably the most important decision that all of us are going to have to make.
‘Nikki Haley has to be that candidate.’
Trump and Biden both came under fire from Sheindlin, who said: ‘I am not necessarily here to bash the competition, although I am perfectly capable of doing that.
‘Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. We’ve already seen what these two presidencies look like.’
Sheindlin endorsed Haley on DailyMail.com last week, saying: ‘It takes a lot for me to support any one candidate so strongly. But Nikki Haley’s integrity, intelligence, energy, and experience speak for themselves.
‘And I know that she’s more than ready to take on the world’s toughest job as President of the United States.’
Taking the stage after Sheindlin, Haley said: ‘How cool is it to have Judge Judy endorse you? It really is. She’s a trailblazer. She’s tough. She speaks hard truths. She doesn’t mince words.’
The Florida Governor signed off his campaign with the quote: ‘Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts,’ underneath the video where he announced he was removing himself from the running
DeSantis with his family at a campaign event the day before pulling out of the race
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump taking the stage during a campaign stop in Rochester, New Hampshire
She went on to speak about national security, recouping US land from Chinese companies and her plans to end trade relations with China until Xi Jinping’s government ‘stops murdering Americans’.
She said: ‘Don’t let Biden tell you that China’s a competitor. They never saw us as a competitor: they always saw us an enemy. We’ve got to start looking at them they way they look at us.’
Closing her speech, she said: ‘I will beat Donald Trump and Joe Biden. We can do this. Together we can do this.’
Trump, 77, has continued to slam Haley in the build-up to the primary, thanking DeSantis for his support and saying Haley’s supporters are ‘pro-Amnesty, pro-China, pro-Open Borders, pro-war, pro-Deep State and they’re pro-Biden.’
The former president called her out for previously arguing against his border policies, and told the cheering New Hampshire crowds: ‘She will never secure the border.’
Despite denying he was going to pull out on Sunday morning, DailyMail.com reported that DeSantis had given up on New Hampshire, turning his campaign towards the more conservative state of South Carolina.
But on Saturday, he was given internal polling data that showed he had no chance of winning the state and would finish far behind former Trump, according to two sources familiar with discussions.
Trump endorsed DeSantis in his 2018 bid for governor in Florida, using his coattails to help earn him the Republican nomination and eventually the win
Trump said he is ‘honored’ to have Ron DeSantis ‘ endorsement in the Republican race for president after the Florida Governor made the shock decision to drop out
His aides canceled appearances on the Sunday morning shows as they debated what to do next.
A poll published Sunday morning found he was on course for just six percent of the vote, behind Trump on 50 percent and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on 39 points.
He was already digesting difficult numbers from South Carolina, where he had hoped to get his campaign back on track and where he campaigned at the weekend.
DeSantis’ final days in the race had him frantically trying to figure out where his message might best resonate after he lost Iowa to Trump by 30 points.
After completing the ‘full Grassley’ in Iowa by traveling to all 99 counties and receiving the endorsement of the state’s popular Gov. Kim Reynolds, DeSantis still couldn’t turn out the vote for a win in the caucuses on January 15.
The day after the Iowa caucuses DeSantis flew to Greenville, South Carolina to get a jump start in the fourth primary contest state in hopes voters would turn against Nikki Haley there.
Casey and Ron DeSantis embrace during a caucus night party on Monday, January 15 in West Des Moines, Iowa after the governor’s second place finish in the first primary contest state
After the quick South Carolina stop, DeSantis flew back to New Hampshire later that day before CBS News broke on Wednesday that the governor planned to leave the Granite State – possibly for good – to again campaign in South Carolina all weekend.
That trip, however, ended up lasting one day – with three events. It concluded with headlines on how DeSantis sparred with a fourth grade teacher over Haley’s education record as governor.
On Sunday, instead of campaigning in South Carolina, DeSantis was expected to fly back to New Hampshire. But after canceling appearances on NBC’s Meet the Press and CNN’s State of the Union in the process, it became clear something else was afoot.
In her first reaction to the news, Nikki Haley said Sunday morning ‘may the best woman win.’
‘I want to say to Ron, he ran a great race, he’s been a good governor and we wish him well,’ Haley said. ‘Having said that, it’s now one fella and one lady left.’
In turn, DeSantis kicked Haley as he walked out the door.
He said Trump had his endorsement ‘because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form of warmed over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents.’
Haley told CNN’s Dana Bash that DeSantis didn’t give her a heads up that he was leaving the race.
‘No, he didn’t call or inform me. And, look, this is what the fellows do,’ she said, adding that she ‘doesn’t take politics personally.’
DeSantis supporter Dan Arlen told DailyMail.com he wasn’t sure who he would now support after his candidate dropped out. But he is resigned to the prospect of a Trump-Biden rematch in 2024
A New Hampshire resident driving outside a cancelled DeSantis event on Sunday holds up a sign saying Trump belongs in ‘prison’ or an ‘insane asylum’
DeSantis’ exit turns the Republican primary race into a tussle between frontrunner Trump and underdog Haley.
She is behind Trump in the polls by double digits and facing an uphill battle to win the state she has focused on after finishing third in Iowa.
While it’s not clear how the Florida Governor’s bombshell decision to end his campaign will play out at the ballot box, analysts and polls have suggested it will benefit Trump.
Many DeSantis supporters are resigned to the fact it will be Trump against Biden, again, in 2024.
Republican strategist Scott Jennings told DailyMail.com: ‘Trump benefits but he was already cruising to the nomination.
‘Trump is dominant. He’s run a textbook operation to dispatch his opponents.
‘New Hampshire is the most fertile ground Haley would ever find and Trump’s leading her by a decent margin.
‘It doesn’t get easier from there. In fact, it gets significantly harder.’
A CNN/University of New Hampshire survey released hours before the DeSantis news showed his supporters were more likely to back the former president over Haley.
The poll found 62 percent of likely New Hampshire voters who had DeSantis as their first choice would pick Trump second, while just 32 percent had Haley as their alternative.
The poll had Trump leading Haley by 11 points in the Granite State with two days until until the polls open. DeSantis was polling at just six percent before he bowed out.