Fox News host Laura Ingraham called on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to drop out of the GOP primary presidential race Tuesday, arguing the White House hopeful has little to “gain” from remaining in the race, which former President Trump continues to lead the polls.
“It’s time for some serious soul-searching by Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis,” Ingraham said during “The Ingraham Angle.”
She pointed to DeSantis’s performance in Monday night’s Iowa caucuses, stating the Florida governor has “a lot to be proud of” after finishing second, slightly ahead of Haley, a former United Nations ambassador.
But DeSantis still trailed Trump by nearly 30 points in Iowa, and Ingraham argued the former president “is simply too powerful” this election cycle for DeSantis to clinch the nomination.
“As a candidate on the trail, he worked his butt off. And people forget how young he is. So with, what, three more years as Florida’s governor, he can build an even greater track record of success in that very important state,” Ingraham said. “So a future in the Republican Party for him could be really bright, but he’s simply not going to be president this time around.”
“It’s not happening. Trump is simply too powerful and has endured too much,” Ingraham said.
Her comments came just hours ahead of CNN’s town hall with DeSantis in New Hampshire, which holds its primary next week.
Haley in recent weeks has surpassed DeSantis in the Granite State and pulled to within about 8 points of Trump, according to the polling index from The Hill and Decision Desk HQ.
Polling Tuesday showed Trump with about 41.4 percent support in New Hampshire, while Haley has the backing of about 33.4 percent. DeSantis, who was once widely expected to be the second-place contender in the GOP primary, has seen his support diminish to below 6 percent in the key early-voting state.
Ingraham argued DeSantis remaining in the race harms his own political future, rather than Trump’s.
“And every day that Ron DeSantis stays on the campaign trail criticizing Trump is a day that hurts Ron DeSantis’s political future. He doesn’t gain anything from it, that’s for sure. And Trump, he’s not hurt by it at all. So it’s time to step aside and endorse Trump,” Ingraham said.
Earlier Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal editorial board published a piece urging DeSantis to drop out to give Haley a chance at beating the former president.
The board argued DeSantis “faces no clear path” to the GOP nomination, and time is running out for voters to change the course of Trump’s lead.
“If [DeSantis] believes, as he says, that Mr. Trump can’t win in November, he should leave the race and give Ms. Haley a chance to take on Mr. Trump one on one,” the board wrote.