Trump and Haley rally after DeSantis exits race before New Hampshire primary: Highlights

MANCHESTER, N.H. — DeSantis supporters, former campaign staffers and members of the public gathered at The Farm Bar and Grille in Manchester — the site of this afternoon’s canceled DeSantis campaign event — to commemorate the end of his candidacy.

While the celebration was closed to the media, members of the public who RSVPed were invited to share drinks and light fare with those who worked to advance DeSantis’ efforts in the Granite State.

Chris Maidment, the New Hampshire political director of the DeSantis-aligned PAC Never Back Down, told NBC News he learned of his candidate’s fate like most others: from X. While he was, of course, upset by the end of his candidate’s bid, Maidment remained bullish on DeSantis’ long-term political future.

“I’m still voting him on Tuesday; he’s still on the ballot,” Maidment said. “He’s the strongest conservative candidate I’ve seen in my life — with him until the end.”

Others from DeSantis’ local orbit were seen in attendance, as well, including the campaign’s New Hampshire state director, Michael Gorecki. At one point, a man walked into the restaurant from off the street hoping the originally scheduled event was still taking place: “Will the governor still be here?”

When some New Hampshire voters looked at their phones to see who was calling today, the name appeared as “Donald J. Trump.”

They were getting automated calls inviting them to a tele-rally before Trump’s in-person event later in the day.

A Trump aide confirmed that the tele-rally took place around 6 p.m.

EXETER, N.H. — TV's renowned "Judge Judy," whose full name is Judith Sheindlin, made the case for Haley’s presidential bid here today while casting aspersions on both Biden and Trump in an interview.

“You’ve got to get on the Nikki bandwagon,” Sheindlin advised voters, telling NBC News that she cold-called Haley to tell her she was interested in meeting and endorsing her.

“She is a star. Not chaos. Focused, measured, disciplined, has the knowledge to deal with the world, which has become more and more chaotic. We can’t afford to have someone who hides in his basement being leader of the free world again," she said.

She said that she believes that "in a horse race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, Trump is going to be president. And I think that is not a good place for America.”

Haley opened her rally tonight by saying: “Do you hear that sound? That’s the sound of a two-person race.”

Another protester just interrupted Trump at his event.

As the protestor was escorted out, Trump said, “Looked like a nice person.”

The protestor yelled, “You took millions from foreign governments,” and was quickly booed and escorted out.

“It doesn’t happen very much,” Trump said. It’s happened three times in the past couple of weeks, including last night.

At his rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, tonight, Trump addressed news that DeSantis was leaving the presidential race.

"Before we begin, I’d like to take time to congratulate Ron DeSantis — and, of course, a really terrific person who I have gotten to know, his wife, Casey — for having run a great campaign for president. He did, he ran a really good campaign."

Trump noted DeSantis' endorsement of him and said, "I appreciate that, and I also look forward to working with Ron and everybody."

SEABROOK, N.H. — Since the Iowa caucuses, Haley had tried to frame the Republican presidential race as one-on-one combat between her and Trump. 

DeSantis today made it official for Haley, who appeared noticeably energized as she delivered the news of his exit at a campaign stop — even though the question of just how much it will help her looms over the shrinking primary campaign.

Inside the Haley campaign, there’s a sense of energy over the news of his dropping out, though officials there don’t think it will make much of a difference when it comes to the numbers, pointing to public surveys showing DeSantis in the single digits in both South Carolina and New Hampshire. In that sense, they believe that’s why it was a two-person race before DeSantis dropped.

Read the full story here.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a former Republican presidential candidate who recently endorsed Trump, defended the former president after he mixed up Haley with Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in remarks at a rally Friday night.

Appearing on ABC News' "This Week," Burgum noted that he has been on the campaign trail and argued that it’s possible for candidates to misspeak while working long days.

“And I know when you’re going around the clock it’s — it’s possible to, you know, to make — make — and on — say, use words that don’t fit into sentences,” he said. 

“But I would say, you know, having been with the president last week in Iowa and in New Hampshire and watching him go for 20 hours a day, I know that he’s got — he’s got the strength, he’s got the experience to lead,” he added. “And I think that if we’re going to have, you know, the gaffe tape, you know, run that this morning on Joe Biden — there wouldn’t be enough time on this show."

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani spoke to reporters outside the Farm Bar and Grille where DeSantis was supposed to appear for a campaign event at 5 p.m. ET. He said he sent DeSantis a note thanking him and telling him “it’s a much more difficult decision than people realize.” 

Giuliani attacked Haley, saying she’s not up to the job and has made “horrendous mistakes,” including her comments about slavery’s role in the Civil War. 

Giuliani also said he spoke to Trump last night and planned to call him today but knows “he’s busy.”

ROCHESTER, N.H. — Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., spent about 15 minutes greeting Trump supporters awaiting entry into the former president's rally in Rochester tonight.

While Phillips, a long-shot Democratic presidential candidate, maintained he was there just to talk to voters as a show of unity, the underlying theme of the visit was clear through a message he offered to reporters: “I’m being treated with more kindness and friendliness and hospitality in this line at a Donald Trump rally in New Hampshire than I have been by Democratic elected officials in the state of New Hampshire. Which might be what all you need to know.”

Leading LGBTQ activists and advocacy groups wasted no time today to celebrate DeSantis' dropping out of the presidential race.

"It turns out voters don’t think much of banning books & attacking trans kids," Kelley Robinson, the president of the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, the Human Rights Campaign, wrote this afternoon on X. "Sorry, not sorry, Ron. Your campaign now sits where your brand of politics belongs, in the dustbin of history."

Since he became governor of Florida in 2019, DeSantis has repeatedly drawn the fury of queer activists and national attention for enacting anti-LGBTQ bills into law.

DeSantis misattributed a quotation to the late British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the tweet announcing he was suspending his presidential campaign, according to a group that studies Churchill’s life and works.

In a post to DeSantis’ account on X, which includes the video announcing his exit from the race, the text reads, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts,” attributed to Churchill.

But, as the International Churchill Society has pointed out, Churchill never actually said that.

“We base this on careful research in the canon of fifty million words by and about Churchill, including all of his books, articles, speeches and papers,” the International Churchill Social wrote in a post in 2013.

The group noted that Churchill did say, “No one can guarantee success in war, but only deserve it.” He also said, “Success always demands a greater effort,” according to the organization.

Trump's campaign reacted to news that DeSantis was exiting the race by launching a fresh attack on Haley as a "candidate of the globalists and Democrats."

"With only a few days left until President Donald J. Trump’s victory in New Hampshire, we are honored by the endorsement from Governor Ron DeSantis and so many other former presidential candidates," the campaign said in a statement. "It is now time for all Republicans to rally behind President Trump to defeat Crooked Joe Biden and end his disastrous presidency."

"Nikki Haley is the candidate of the globalists and Democrats who will do everything to stop the America First movement," the campaign said, adding, "It’s time to choose wisely."

Rep. Matt Gaetz, a top Trump ally, reacted to the news that fellow Florida Republican Ron DeSantis was leaving the race: "Welcome home, Ron."

"Welcome back to the MAGA movement where you have always belonged and where we will welcome you and be honored to count you among our legion as we go forward unifying this Republican Party for victory," he added.

"A reasonable person might honestly ask the question to Nikki Haley, 'What are you still doing in this?'"

 

Montana Sen. Steve Daines, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, posted on X in response to DeSantis dropping out of the 2024 race and endorsing former President Donald Trump.

Daines said, “Donald Trump is the presumptive nominee. I am encouraging every Republican to unite behind him because it will take all of us to defeat Joe Biden, take back the Senate, and hold the House."

Daines is a member of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s leadership team. McConnell, like most Senate GOP leaders, has not endorsed Trump. That may start to change when senators return post-weekend tomorrow afternoon.

A Trump senior adviser said “there wasn’t any” discussion between the two campaigns before DeSantis dropped out.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Trump surrogate, told a crowd of Trump supporters earlier today that, “It looks like we might have DeSantis back on our side soon.”

Haley declared “may the best woman win” in response to DeSantis’ exit from the race, promising to “fight all the way until the last second.”

“This comes down to what do you want: Do you want more of the same or do you want something new?” Haley asked a cheering crowd in New Hampshire.

In a now-frequent refrain, Haley nodded to “the fellas” who also ran in the race and said that now there’s just “one fella and one lady left.”

DeSantis endorsed Trump in a video announcing he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.

"I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee, and I will honor that pledge. He has my endorsement," DeSantis said.

The Florida governor said Republican primary voters want to give Trump another chance because "they watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance, and they see Democrats using lawfare to this day to attack him."

"While I've had disagreements with Donald Trump, such as on the coronavirus pandemic and his elevation of Anthony Fauci, Trump is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clear," he continued.

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, once seen as the most formidable opponent to Donald Trump in the Republican presidential primary, is planning to suspend his race Sunday, three sources confirmed to NBC News.

The move comes two days before the New Hampshire primary and is expected to come before the 5 p.m. event he had scheduled here in Manchester.

Read the full story here.

Before taking the stage in Manchester, New Hampshire, last night, Trump told Fox News that he has a potential running mate in mind but that person only has a "25% chance" of getting picked.

Trump said the potential running mate he has in mind is a “very good person” who is “pretty standard” — but warned that that person most likely will not be his running mate.

“I think people won’t be that surprised,” he said. “But I would say there’s probably a 25% chance it would be that person.”

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Three different New Hampshire polls, three different double-digit leads for Trump ahead of Tuesday’s Republican presidential primary in New Hampshire.

That’s the conclusion from all the polling with two days to go until New Hampshire’s contest.

The different polls underscore Haley’s challenge to overtake Trump: In a GOP electorate essentially split between registered Republicans and independents, Trump continues to hold a larger lead among registered Republicans than Haley’s lead among independents.

Days after endorsing Trump, Sen. Tim Scott dodged a question about speculation that he could become Trump's running mate.

Asked by CNN's Dana Bash whether he would like to be Trump's running mate, Scott said, "The only thing I want is four more years of Donald Trump and a Republican majority in the Senate, majority in the House, and the White House."

"I want kids to look to their future and believe that America is their oyster. They can have whatever they want. That's what I really want," he said.

Two days before the New Hampshire primary, former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called on DeSantis, who is polling in single digits in the state, to drop out of the presidential race tonight.

“[Ron DeSantis] would do the GOP & the country a great service if he drops out tonight & sends an unequivocal message to the neocons: America-First is the way,” Ramaswamy wrote in a post on X. “This movement can’t be about ego or ambition. He deserves immense credit if he does. This primary needs to end on Tuesday.”

A heckler interrupted long-shot Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dean Phillips’ event in Hampton, New Hampshire.

He managed to get ahold of a mic and say, “Hello, everybody. … I’m here to share my vision for America.”

“Maybe you can do it after I do it,” Phillips said in response.

The man was soon escorted out of the room by Phillips’ staff.

It is unclear whether the man was attempting to protest on behalf of a specific cause, as he did not advocate for any specific issue, but the heckler appeared to be associated with the comedic duo “the Good Liars.” The group has interrupted several candidate events, including earlier this month when they handed DeSantis a participation trophy during an event in Iowa.

“This is sadly, this is frankly why I’m running,” Phillips said. “We’re living in this kind of era where disruption and disrespect seems to be the only way people can attract attention.”

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, co-chair of Biden’s re-election campaign, called on Biden to use more "blunt language" when speaking out about abortion rights.

During an interview on CBS’ "Face the Nation," host Margaret Brennan noted Biden's stance that advocating for abortion rights is complicated by his Catholic faith.

"Does he need to talk about it more?" Brennan asked.

"I think it would be good if he did," Whitmer replied while noting that Biden believes that "women and only women, with their families and health care professionals, are the ones who know what decision is right for them."

Haley projected confidence about her performance in the South Carolina primary as recent polling shows Trump with a commanding lead.

When asked by CBS News' Margaret Brennan whether she can win in South Carolina, Haley quipped, “I won twice as governor.”

Pressed about why so many South Carolina elected officials support Trump and whether they're scared of his hold over the party, Haley said she’s "not surprised at all" by the politicians who have lined up behind Trump.

"It's because I've never really taken care of elected officials. I call out elected officials because I think they need to be accountable to the people. I call out Republicans and Democrats when they don't do the right thing," she said.

Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., expressed confidence in the write-in campaign for Biden in the upcoming New Hampshire primary.

In an interview on “Meet the Press,” Hassan said there is “huge energy” in New Hampshire for the write-in campaign for Biden.

“Is President Biden going to win the write-in campaign?” moderator Kristen Welker asked.

“Write-in campaigns are really tough, but we are feeling really good about what we’re seeing on the ground,” Hassan said. The president won’t appear on the ballot in New Hampshire after the Biden campaign announced it would comply with the DNC’s revised primary calendar, which designated South Carolina the first-in-the-nation primary.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Democratic presidential long shot Marianne Williamson warned of the outsize role Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could play in a general election while speaking to the press last night.

“Democrats are delusional if they think that RFK Jr.’s campaign will not be a big factor in 2024,” said Williamson after a town hall over the weekend.

Asked whether she would follow in Kennedy’s footsteps by mounting her own independent bid for the presidency if her bid for the Democratic nomination does not pan out, Williamson dismissed the idea.

New Hampshire Gov. Sununu was asked by "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker if he believes Trump would follow the Constitution if re-elected.

Sununu, who has said he would support Trump if he wins the Republican nomination, said, “I would hope so.”

“You’re hopeful, but not confident?” Welker pressed.

“I would say that about any president,” he said. “I would hope so. I’d hope Joe Biden would, I would hope any of them would. Yes.”

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who ended his presidential bid in November and endorsed Trump last week, joined CNN’s “State of the Union” this morning, where he discussed his endorsement of Trump and defended his attacks against Haley.

During the interview, Scott for the first time publicly stated that he and Haley texted multiple times after he dropped out and revealed that he texted her on Thursday, the day before he endorsed Trump. He also said that he plans to campaign for Trump in South Carolina in the lead-up to the primary.

"We had texts several times since I got out the race," he said. "So, we’ve had a conversation, at least once. We’ve had multiple texts back and forth."

He later added, "I texted her the day before I made my announcement."

Just two days before the New Hampshire primary, NBC News senior national political correspondent Steve Kornacki joins “Meet the Press” to explain what the state’s electorate looks like. Plus, a new Suffolk/NBC10 Boston/Boston Globe poll shows former President Donald Trump with a 19-point lead over Nikki Haley.

The editorial board of the New Hampshire Union Leader, a daily newspaper based out of Manchester, is endorsing Haley ahead of Tuesday’s primary. 

“She is a smart, thoughtful, experienced candidate who is ready to be the next president of these great United States. She is easily the most qualified candidate on either ballot,” the editorial board wrote.

In 2020, the newspaper broke a 100-year streak of endorsing Republicans when it backed Biden over Trump. The last Republican candidate the editorial board endorsed was former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie during the 2016 cycle.

Iowa was supposed to be make-or-break for Ron DeSantis.

The Florida governor essentially moved his campaign there late last year, and Never Back Down, his allied super PAC, spent tens of millions of dollars knocking on doors in the state.

Read the full story here.

Senior Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller downplayed the significance of Trump seemingly mistaking Haley for former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi amid questions about Trump’s acuity.

“Look, really it’s just a distinction without a difference,” Miller said.

“You look at the way Nikki Haley’s been running her campaign, quite easily you could see where someone would consider her to be like Nancy Pelosi,” he added.