NationalWatch

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis lashed out at former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley one last time as he dropped out of the presidential race this week.

DeSantis blasted Haley as a representative of “corporatism” and emphasized his endorsement for former President Trump. Haley is now the sole remaining challenger to Trump in the GOP primary.

“I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee and I will honor that pledge. He has my 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. The days of putting Americans last, of kowtowing to large corporations, of caving to woke ideology, are over,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis dropped out of the 2024 Republican presidential race and endorsed former President Donald Trump on Sunday, just two days before the New Hampshire primary.

THIS 2024 GOP CANDIDATE WAS TARGETED BY WAY MORE ATTACK ADS THAN ANY OTHER HEADING INTO THE PRIMARY ELECTIONS

The Florida governor announced his decision to suspend his campaign in a social media video on X, formerly known as Twitter.

TRUMP RUNNING MATE SPECULATION SOARS AS FORMER PRESIDENT CONSOLIDATES SUPPORT

“If there was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome, more campaign stops, more interviews, I would do it,” DeSantis said in the video. “But I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don’t have a clear path to victory.”

“Accordingly, I am today suspending my campaign,” said DeSantis, who was a distant third in the single digits in the latest polls in New Hampshire.

DeSantis highlighted that he’s had “disagreements” with Trump but believes that the former president is a better leader than Biden.

“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” DeSantis continued. “They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance, and they see Democrats using lawfare this day to attack him.”

CHECK OUT THE LATEST POLL NUMBERS IN THE NEW HAMPSHIRE PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY

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Trump himself said on Sunday that he is “honored” to receive DeSantis’ endorsement.

“Very honored to have his endorsement,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “I look forward to working together with him to beat Joe Biden, who is the worst and most corrupt president in the history of our country.”

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller, Paul Steinhauser, Brooke Singman and Andrea Vacchiano contributed to this report

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign peaked before it even started.

A year ago, DeSantis was still basking in the glow of his convincing gubernatorial re-election victory in Florida and was the clear alternative to former President Trump in the burgeoning Republican White House race. 

The former president was still facing plenty of criticism by fellow Republicans for contributing to the GOP’s lackluster performance in the 2022 midterms.

Additionally, Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign launch at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, a couple of weeks after the midterms was panned by many pundits.

HALEY REVEALS HER PITCH FOR DESANTIS SUPPORTERS

DeSantis was neck and neck with Trump in a slew of national and early state polls, but as winter turned to spring, the Florida governor came under repeated verbal assault by the former president and his allies.

DeSantis was already bruised by the time he formally launched his campaign, an announcement on social media that was mired with technical difficulties – marking the first of many bad omens for the popular governor.

RON DESANTIS ENDORSES DONALD TRUMP AS HE DROPS OUT OF THE 2024 GOP PRESIDENTIAL RACE

The governor faced an onslaught of negative ads from the Trump world during late spring into summer.

Veteran New Hampshire-based Republican strategist Michael Dennehy, who served on multiple presidential campaigns, argued that “Trump’s barrage of attacks was the beginning of the end of DeSantis.”

DeSantis made headlines over the summer, with a series of campaign staff purges and resets. There were more staff shakeups in the fall, this time at the DeSantis-aligned super PAC Never Back Down, which had taken over many of the traditional duties of a presidential campaign, including grassroots outreach.

Longtime Republican consultant Alex Castellanos, a veteran of half-a-dozen presidential campaigns, noted that DeSantis “ran a mechanical campaign and failed on two mechanical fronts.”

“He wasted bazillions on door knocking when you don’t build a brand going door to door. And two – he’s a mechanical candidate who you don’t want at your door. You need to be a people person to run for public office,” he argued.

Dennehy agreed, charging that DeSantis “just didn’t have the charisma to connect with voters in Iowa and New Hampshire.”

CHECK OUT THE LATEST POLL NUMBERS IN THE NEW HAMPSHIRE PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY

Jim Merrilll, another longtime New Hampshire-based Republican strategist and presidential campaign veteran, said that the DeSantis “withdrawal is also a reminder of a simple rule – voters need to first like and connect with candidates before they can support them.”

Merrill added that “DeSantis is an excellent governor whose national campaign time and again failed to put him in a position to succeed.”

Castellanos stressed that “the biggest thing that hurt him is that Republican voters aren’t looking for an alternative to Donald Trump. Donald Trump is their incumbent president.”

Dan Eberhart, a top DeSantis donor, bundler and surrogate, told Fox News Digital that “Ron DeSantis ran into a bump and the bump was named Trump.”

“This wasn’t about money. The campaign insists they had enough money to get to Super Tuesday. I think this was about data and polling and Gov. DeSantis being realistic about whether or not Trump was beatable,” Eberhart said.

He added: “more importantly, I think this was about 2028, and DeSantis doesn’t want a 5% to 8% showing in New Hampshire on his record. Let’s face it, he’s the Republican voters’ de facto second choice, and he’s Trump voters’ second choice, and so he’s decided to get out and govern Florida.”

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The latest public opinion polls in New Hampshire indicate Trump holding on to a double-digit lead over Haley with hours to go until Primary Day.

Merrill said that DeSantis’ departure from the race “narrows Haley’s margin for error here. Many, if not most, of DeSantis voters are going to migrate over to Trump. And so it’s critical for her to do well in New Hampshire to give her some momentum heading into South Carolina.”

But he added that “clearly the consolidation of the field over the last week indicates that there’s increasing pressure to bring the primary process to a close.”

Dennehy was more blunt.

“I think it puts a nail in her coffin,” he said of Haley. “I don’t think she’ll be able to keep under 50%. And I think there’s a very good chance that Trump hits 60% on Tuesday, which will signal the end of the Haley campaign and virtually seal the deal for the Trump nomination.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Nearly two dozen current and former officials serving in the White House and Biden administration, including the president’s national security adviser and the secretary of state, have extensive ties to Hunter Biden, who is accused by Republicans of selling access to his father dating back over a decade.

A Fox News Digital analysis reveals the extent of Hunter’s potential reach in the White House as the embattled first son faces federal tax charges in California, as well as a congressional investigation into his alleged influence peddling and foreign business deals.

Hunter pleaded not guilty during his initial court appearance this month after being charged with nine tax crimes stemming from an investigation by Justice Department Special Counsel David Weiss. A day earlier, he made a shocking appearance at a House Oversight Committee meeting where members were considering whether to hold him in contempt for defying a subpoena as part of the impeachment inquiry into his father, President Biden.

The most notable individuals from Fox’s analysis include two members of Biden’s Cabinet, one former Cabinet member, a top aide to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, a national security adviser, four top Biden White House aides, the communications director for first lady Jill Biden, and multiple other former staffers.

All emails were reviewed and verified by Fox News Digital.

Kate Bedingfield

Former White House communications director Kate Bedingfield, who departed the role last year but is still a staunch defender of the Biden administration and serves as an outside surrogate, previously communicated with Hunter in 2016 about a column written by Joel Goldstein, a law professor, praising his father’s presidency.

“It is excellent. We will move it around to the WH press corps,” she wrote to Hunter and a number of others. Bedingfield was serving as then-Vice President Biden’s communications director at the time.

Other emails from 2015 showed Bedingfield later tried to quash a Bloomberg story about Hunter at the request of his firm, Rosemont Seneca. The emails showed a close relationship between Biden’s office, Hunter’s longtime business partner Eric Schwerin, and the media.

Schwerin, who was the then-president of Hunter’s now-defunct Rosemont Seneca Partners investment firm, asked Bedingfield whether there was any “follow up” by other news outlets on a New York Times story that said the “credibility of the vice president’s anti-corruption message may have been undermined” by Hunter’s serving on the board of Burisma Holdings.

VP BIDEN’S OFFICE TRIED TO QUASH BLOOMBERG STORY ABOUT HUNTER BIDEN AT HIS FIRM’S REQUEST, EMAILS SHOW

Bedingfield, who is now a CNN political commentator, responded that a Bloomberg reporter had asked about it but was “doing everything she can to not use it.”

“…VP just finished an interview with the Bloomberg reporter traveling with us and she asked about it, though she assures me she’s doing everything she can to not use it,” she wrote. “I will have a transcript soon but my quick notes on his answer are: No one has any doubt about my record on corruption, I don’t talk to my son about his business and my children don’t talk to me about mine, I have complete faith in my son.”

Schwerin responded, “I would just urge her (as I know you are doing) that there is no new news there. And even if she uses it — she should avoid getting into past stories (Navy, etc.) that have nothing to do with this.”

The story was ultimately published.

John Nevergole

John Nevergole, a business executive who was tapped in 2022 to serve another term on President Biden’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa (PAC-DBIA), previously worked as a senior adviser to Rosemont Seneca and strategized with Hunter on brokering business deals in western Africa years prior to his appointment in the current administration.

Emails show Nevergole’s relationship with Hunter dating back to at least 2011. In an Aug. 5, 2011, email chain, Schwerin, then-president of Rosemont Seneca Advisors, informed Hunter that Nevergole had requested to split a retainer fee 70/30 for helping broker a deal between Rosemont and Brazilian construction giant OAS.

BIDEN ADMIN’S COMMERCE APPOINTEE WAS LONGTIME BUSINESS PARTNER OF HUNTER BIDEN, EMAILS REVEAL

After Hunter pushed back on the price, Schwerin, who was also a member of ABD’s board of advisers for several years, said, “So, I am OK with 70/30 … Mainly because I think the relationship can bear fruit in other areas down the line, e.g. in Africa if we choose to focus there.”

A few years later, Schwerin emailed Hunter on May 29, 2014, saying he “talked to John Nevergole yesterday, and he said you had mentioned to him you wanted to discuss natural gas at some point.”

At the time, Hunter had just been appointed to serve as a board member for Ukrainian oil and gas company Burisma Holdings, for which he had received intense scrutiny over several years that prompted him to later admit he used “poor judgment” and that he would not join the board again if he could do things over.

The two communicated frequently from 2010 to 2017.

Michael Hochman

Michael Hochman, a White House aide who has held multiple positions in the Biden administration, including White House deputy staff secretary, previously spent nearly two decades at a Delaware law firm that was heavily involved with corporate entities tied to Hunter, his business associates and other Biden family members.

Between January 2021 and June 2022, Hochman served as the White House deputy staff secretary before joining the White House’s recently created Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD), which advises Biden on cybersecurity policy and strategy. Hochman started out as the deputy general counsel and deputy chief of staff before being promoted to chief of staff last November.

Fox’s analysis found several emails between Hochman and Hunter sent during the Obama-Biden administration, in addition to nearly a dozen Biden-linked corporate entities that were registered through the law firm where Hochman spent most of his career.

TOP WHITE HOUSE AIDE WORKED AT LAW FIRM HEAVILY INVOLVED WITH CORPORATE ENTITIES TIED TO HUNTER, BIDEN FAMILY

The review found that Monzack Mersky McLaughlin and Browder had served as the registered agents for Owasco LLC, Rosemont Seneca Advisors, and Robinson Walker LLC, which is owned by Hunter’s former business partner, Rob Walker. Fox News Digital previously reported that members of the Biden family received more than $1 million in payments from accounts related to Walker’s LLC and their Chinese business ventures involving CEFC affiliate State Energy HK in 2017.

Multiple Biden family accounts, including those belonging to Hunter, Hallie Biden and an unnamed Biden, also received approximately $1.038 million from the same Walker LLC account after Bladon Enterprises, which reportedly belonged to Gabriel “Puiu” Popoviciu, a Romanian tycoon, deposited over $3 million between November 2015 to May 2017. According to a 2017 email from Walker, which was obtained by the Senate Finance Committee, Walker viewed himself as a “surrogate” for Hunter and his uncle, Jim Biden, when “gauging [business] opportunities.”

John Kerry

Less than six months before Hunter and his longtime business partner, Devon Archer, became board members at the Burisma energy company in Ukraine in 2014, email correspondence shows that a top aide to then-Secretary of State John Kerry, who announced this month that he was leaving the Biden administration to serve as an adviser for the Biden campaign, was telling some of his fellow State Department officials that Kerry and Hunter had a close friendship and that Hunter asked Kerry to speak to his Georgetown University grad students on March 18, 2014.

“Just spoke with Hunter Biden, good friend of S, who teaches a class at Georgetown on advocacy,” David Wade wrote. “He’d like S to speak to his class on 3/18. If S is here, he’ll for sure want to do this. Class would come here to HST.”

EMAIL REVEALS HUNTER’S COZY RELATIONSHIP WITH HIGHEST LEVELS OF OBAMA’S STATE DEPT. AS FARA ACCUSATIONS SWIRL

On the day of the class, Archer told Hunter he would send a briefing he put together on Burisma ahead of Hunter’s trip the following day to New York City to meet with him. It is unclear whether Kerry had knowledge of the conversations between Hunter and Archer about Burisma in March 2014 or in the weeks following the class. 

Kerry’s stepson, Chris Heinz, was a business partner of Hunter and Archer at the time, but he reportedly severed ties with the firm later that year. And a spokesperson attributed their Burisma board memberships as a “major catalyst for Mr. Heinz ending his business relationships with Mr. Archer and Mr. Biden.”

However, he still remained friendly with them in emails more than a year after they joined the Burisma board.

Jake Sullivan

Hunter Biden and President Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, served together on the board of the Truman National Security Project, a liberal foreign policy think tank, for roughly two years before Sullivan joined the president’s campaign in 2020.

Hunter, who started serving on the board in 2012, and Sullivan both served on the Washington-based nonprofit’s board between 2017 and early 2019, according to internet archives captured by Wayback Machine.

During that time, Hunter was also serving on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings and the Chinese private equity fund BHR Partners. The federal investigation into Hunter’s foreign business dealings, which is still ongoing, also launched during the same time frame in 2018.

JAKE SULLIVAN SERVED ON A NATIONAL SECURITY BOARD WITH HUNTER BIDEN FOR 2 YEARS, RAISING QUESTIONS FROM GOP

Sullivan has been accused by former White House official Mike McCormick of being a “conspirator” in the Biden family’s “kickback scheme” in Ukraine when Biden was vice president.

Sullivan denied the allegations, telling reporters that he had nothing to do with such an operation.

Jeff Zients

White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, who led the federal COVID-19 pandemic response between early 2021 and April 2022, met Hunter multiple times in 2016, according to emails and White House visitor logs.

Zients met with Hunter Biden twice in February 2016 and on another occasion in May 2016, just months before Biden, the vice president at the time, was set to leave the White House.

Biden attended the first two meetings, both of which took place at the U.S. Naval Observatory, where the vice presidential residence is located.

Additionally, Anne Marie Muldoon, who was an assistant for then-Vice President Biden between 2014 and 2017, sent Hunter Biden an invitation to attend a potential fourth meeting with his father, Zients, David Bradley, a Washington, D.C.-based political consultant and chair of media group Atlantic Media, and Eric Lander at the Naval Observatory on July 12, 2016. While it is unclear whether Hunter Biden joined the meeting, Muldoon sent him a copy of the meeting agenda after it took place.

Ron Klain

Biden’s former White House chief of staff, Ron Klain, who stepped down last year, previously served as the chief of staff for Vice President Biden until the end of January 2011. In September 2012, Klain reached out to Hunter for help in raising $20,000 for the Vice President’s Residence Foundation (VPRF), telling him to “keep this low low key” to prevent “bad PR,” according to emails Fox News Digital previously reported on.

“The tax lawyers for the VP Residence Foundation have concluded that since the Cheney folks last raised money in 2007 and not 2008, we actually have to have some incoming funds before the end of this fiscal year (i.e., before 9/30/12 – next week) to remain eligible to be a ‘public charity,'” Klain, who had left his chief of staff position in Vice President Biden’s office a year earlier but was the foundation’s chair at the time, said in an email to Hunter.

RON KLAIN SOLICITED MONEY FROM HUNTER BIDEN FOR VP RESIDENCE IN 2012, EMAILS SHOW: ‘KEEP THIS LOW LOW KEY’

“It’s not much – we need to raise a total of $20,000 – so I’m hitting up a few very close friends on a very confidential basis to write checks of $2,000 each,” Klain continued. “We need to keep this low low key, because raising money for the Residence now is bad PR – but it has to be done, so I’m trying to just collect the 10 checks of $2,000, get it done in a week, and then, we can do an event for the Residence Foundation after the election.”

Hunter then forwarded the email to Schwerin, who helped manage a majority of Hunter’s finances, and the two discussed donating to the foundation, though it’s not clear what was ultimately decided.

Klain’s career with Biden dates back to his failed presidential campaign in 1988 and serving as counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Annie Tomasini

Annie Tomasini, an assistant to the president and the current director of Oval Office operations, was in frequent communication with Hunter, referred to him as her “brother” and often ended her emails with “LY” for “love you,” according to emails dating from 2010 to 2016.

Biden publicly announced on Dec. 20, 2010, that Tomasini was stepping down to take a position with Harvard University, and Tomasini kept Hunter clued in on the details of that position before she took it, according to emails. The month prior, on Nov. 19, 2010, she forwarded information to Hunter about Harvard’s employee benefits and added, “Thanks.”

“Hey – I looked at benefits[.] And they look pretty amazing. Any word on comp?” Hunter responded on Nov. 23, 2010.

“I’ll keep you posted. Thanks for looking at all the background Hunt,” Tomasini replied.

Tomasini was offered the job on Nov. 30, 2010, writing to Hunter, “Director of intergovernmental relations. > 120k ish – may be a little higher.”

She later thanked him and said she was going to tell his father the news. Months later, Hunter gave a speech at Harvard but not before running the draft by Tomasini first.

Tomasini has accompanied Biden and Hunter to Camp David on multiple occasions.

Antony Blinken

Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a meeting with Hunter Biden at the State Department in July 2015 when he was serving as the deputy secretary of state in the Obama-Biden administration and Hunter was on Burisma’s board, according to emails previously reviewed and verified by Fox News Digital.

The meeting was two months in the making after Hunter emailed Blinken in late May 2015, asking, “Have a few minutes next week to grab a cup of coffee? I know you are impossibly busy, but would like to get your advice on a couple of things.”

Blinken said “absolutely” and Hunter forwarded Blinken’s full email response to Devon Archer, who was also serving on the Burisma board with him. However, the initial meeting appeared to have been canceled due to the admission of Hunter’s older brother, Beau Biden, to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland because of a recurrence of brain cancer. Beau died on May 30, 2015.

Less than two months later, Blinken and Hunter met, prompting Blinken to send a follow-up email saying it was “great to see” Hunter and “catch up.”

In April 2023, former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell testified before the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees that Blinken, as President Biden’s then-campaign senior adviser, “played a role in the inception” of the public statement signed by intelligence officials to assert that Hunter’s abandoned laptop was part of a Russian disinformation campaign just weeks before the 2020 presidential election.

Blinken denied having any role in getting the letter signed by members of the intelligence community and said, “One of the great benefits of this job is that I don’t do politics and don’t engage in it. But with regard to that letter, I didn’t – it wasn’t my idea, didn’t ask for it, didn’t solicit it.”

Emails from Hunter’s laptop that Blinken allegedly sought to discredit show that Hunter had ties to Blinken and his wife, Evan Ryan, dating back more than a decade. Those emails also show that Hunter scheduled meetings with Blinken while he was on the board of Burisma and Blinken was the deputy secretary of state.

Multiple profile pieces over the years said Blinken has advised Biden on more than just foreign policy in his decades-long friendship with the president and serving as a confidant. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., President Biden’s reelection campaign co-chair, told CNN in 2021, “President Biden is personally close to both Tony Blinken and Evan Ryan, and Tony has been an incredibly loyal, capable and effective adviser, staffer and personal friend of the sort that is rare in Washington.”

Elizabeth Alexander

Elizabeth Alexander, the communications director for first lady Jill Biden, also has ties to Hunter. 

In 2014, Alexander, who served as Biden’s spokesperson when he was a senator and the vice president, reached out to praise Hunter for his statement after he was kicked out of the Navy Reserve for testing positive for cocaine.

“Hey Hunter – just wanted to write you a quick note to say David and I are thinking of you,” she wrote in an email. “Your statement was perfect and gracious. Sending you a virtual hug from both of us and hoping you can get some peace this weekend.”

Alexander is married to David Wade, a former State Department staffer who helped advise Hunter with rapid response as he was receiving increased public scrutiny about his lucrative position with Burisma.

Emails uncovered by Fox News Digital last year showed Hunter’s firm, Rosemont Seneca Partners, was paying Wade for communications consulting, and he strategized with Hunter and his partners on how to respond to inquiries by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times.

Wade has visited the White House at least five times during Biden’s presidency, according to visitor logs. 

Evan Ryan

Evan Ryan, Blinken’s wife who is currently serving as White House cabinet secretary, communicated frequently with Hunter and his longtime business partner, Eric Schwerin, when she was working at the White House during the Obama-Biden administration.

Hunter tried to connect with Blinken on June 16, 2010, when he asked Ryan for his non-government email address, according to emails. Ryan, who also worked on Biden’s unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign, then provided Blinken’s personal email address to Hunter.

White House visitor logs also show that Schwerin, who was the president of Hunter Biden’s investment firm Rosemont Seneca Partners for several years, met with Ryan at the White House’s Old Executive Office Building (OEOB) in October 2010.

She was also in communication with Hunter and Schwerin about a couple of White House events that year, including the Mexico state dinner and the annual Easter Egg Roll.

“OVP has 250 tix to the Easter Egg Roll and your Mom has an additional 200. Family, etc is coming out of your Mom’s allotment,” Schwerin said in the email to Hunter, referring to Blinken’s wife. “Evan is handling your Dad’s and we can pass on names to her for outreach purposes. Let’s discuss. I don’t think we have 50 spots, but if we had 20 or so names we’d probably be fine.”

“More importantly, OVP has 12 spots to fill for the Mexico State Dinner in May and needs to send in their names by Monday,” he continued. “Evan is looking for any suggestions. Hispanic Americans or just any outreach related suggestions. Obviously they won’t have trouble filling this number but is still looking for suggestions.”

A couple of months later, Hunter and Ryan exchanged emails about the Mexico State dinner guest list, and she sent him the seating chart for his table.

Fox News Digital previously reported several other ties between Hunter and Ryan.

Kathy Chung

Kathy Chung, who is currently serving as the Pentagon’s deputy director of protocol, communicated frequently with Hunter when she was serving as Biden’s executive assistant during the Obama administration.

Throughout much of her five-year tenure working for Biden, Chung regularly shared information with Hunter about his father’s schedule and passed messages directly from the then-vice president, according to emails.

Chung’s relationship with Hunter also appears to date back to before she worked for his father. The emails showed that Hunter recommended Chung for the executive assistant role when the previous holder of the job, Michele Smith, departed the White House in the spring of 2012.

A month after Chung thanked Hunter for “thinking” of her and getting her to apply for a job in the vice president’s office, Chung emailed Hunter Biden to inform him that she had been offered the job.

“I cannot thank you enough for thinking about me and walking me thru this,” she said. “What an incredible opportunity! Thanks, Hunter!!”

In another email exchange shortly after the Obama-Biden administration concluded, Hunter suggested that Chung come work at his company. It does not appear that she ever joined Hunter’s company.

Chung made headlines last year after she was reportedly questioned by federal investigators as part of the probe into the president’s handling of classified documents.

Michael Donilon

Michael Donilon, a current senior adviser to Biden who served as his chief campaign strategist in 2020, was on dozens of emails with Hunter and other members of Biden’s inner circle coordinating strategy meetings throughout the 2012 campaign, mulling over a 2016 presidential bid, and later plotting Biden’s endeavors post-vice presidency.

In August 2015, Schwerin shared a Politico article with Hunter that said Donilon and a few other advisers from Biden’s inner circle, including Hunter, are the only ones “involved in the real decision-making.”

An email from February 2016 showed that Hunter, Donilon and a few others were also involved in the planning stages for the Biden Foundation. And shortly after Biden left office in 2017, Hunter, Donilon and others in his inner circle were invited to a meeting at Biden’s residence in McLean, Virginia, according to emails. 

Days later, Hunter, Donilon and several others were invited to a meeting at Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware, home where classified documents were recently discovered. The meeting took place on Feb. 7, 2017, the same day it was announced that the former vice president would be leading the Penn Biden Center at the University of Pennsylvania, where classified documents were also found, and the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware.

Donilon accompanied Biden a few months ago on the trip to Ireland, which included Hunter and Biden’s sister, Valerie Biden Owens.

Steve Ricchetti

Steve Ricchetti, who currently serves as Biden’s White House counselor, was also on dozens of emails with Hunter dealing with strategy meetings and helping Biden with post-VP life.

Fox News Digital reported last year that Schwerin visited the White House at least eight times in 2016, meeting with Ricchetti at least twice when he was serving as Biden’s chief of staff. 

Morell, the former CIA deputy director who testified in April, said he received a call in October 2020 from Ricchetti, who was serving as the chair of Biden’s campaign at the time, following the Joe Biden’s final debate against then-President Trump, when Biden said the Hunter laptop was a “Russian plant” and a “bunch of garbage.” 

Morell said the call from Ricchetti was to thank him for spearheading the letter signed by intelligence officials that tried to debunk the laptop. 

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In addition to the aforementioned top current and former Biden officials that Hunter was in frequent contact with during the Obama administration and years following, Hunter also had frequent contact with these other Biden administration officials and aides: first lady Jill Biden’s senior adviser, Anthony Bernal; Louisa Terrell, an assistant to the president and the director of the Office of Legislative Affairs; State Department protocol officer Nancy Orloff; U.S. Representative to the European Union Mark Gitenstein; former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl, among others.

The White House and Hunter Biden’s lawyer did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

Fox News’ Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report.

As support for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in New Hampshire’s upcoming Republican presidential primary appeared to dwindle in recent polling, a surrogate for DeSantis on Sunday waved off the polls, saying “the real fight” would be hashed out in the South Carolina primary.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., appeared on “Fox News Sunday” and was asked whether the two new polls showing DeSantis trailing former President Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was the reason why the governor canceled a round of appearances on the Sunday show circuit.

“We never had high expectations for New Hampshire anyway,” Massie responded. “And Nikki’s exploiting a quirk of their primary, which is that undeclareds, i.e. Democrats, can vote in a Republican primary.”

“The real fight, I think, is in South Carolina,” he continued. “And that’s where Nikki Haley, I think, stumbles. She’s going to miss expectations and not even win her own state.”

DESANTIS CANCELS NBC, CNN APPEARANCES SUNDAY OVER SCHEDULING ISSUE AHEAD OF NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY

Two new polls released Sunday morning show DeSantis in a distant third behind Trump and Haley in New Hampshire.

A University of New Hampshire/CNN poll showed Trump at 50%, Haley grabbing 39% support and DeSantis trailing in the single digits with 6%.

TRUMP LEAD OVER HALEY EXPANDS IN CLOSING DAYS BEFORE NEW HAMPSHIRE GOP PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY

Meanwhile, a daily tracking poll released by Suffolk University, the Boston Globe and NBC10 in Boston showed Trump edging up to 55%, while Haley stood at 36% and DeSantis at 6%.

The new surveys indicate that Haley took majority support among independents, who are known as undeclared voters in New Hampshire. Independents can vote in either major party’s contest, and have long played an influential role in the state’s storied presidential primary.

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With the New Hampshire Republican primary set for Tuesday, DeSantis has already begun to shift his focus to Haley’s home state of South Carolina, where he was campaigning over the weekend.

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley says former President Donald Trump is in mental “decline” and is no longer as competent as he was in 2016.

Haley made the statement during a Sunday morning appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” with host Margaret Brennan. Brennan asked Haley whether she saw evidence of Trump declining mentally when she served in his cabinet as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

“If you look recently there have been multiple things,” Haley said. “He claimed Joe Biden was gonna get us into World War II. I’m assuming he meant World War III. He said he ran against President Obama. He never ran against President Obama.”

“Don’t be surprised. If you have somebody that’s 80 in office. Their mental stability is going to continue to decline. That’s just human nature,” Haley said. “If you look at Joe Biden, he’s very different than he was two years ago. Are we really going to go into a situation where we have wars around the world, and we’re trying to prevent war, and we’re gonna have someone who we can or can’t be sure is gonna get confused?”

HALEY ARGUES DESANTIS IS ‘INVISIBLE’ — STRESSES ‘IT’S TRUMP WE’RE GOING AFTER’

“It’s a real issue. It’s not being disrespectful, it’s just a fact,” she added.

Haley went on to say that when she served in Trump’s Cabinet, she repeatedly let him know if she thought what he was doing was wrong.

DESANTIS CAMPAIGNS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, BUT MOST OF HIS STAFF DECAMPS IN SOUTH CAROLINA

“He’s just not at the same level he was at 2016, and I think we’re seeing some of that decline,” she said.

Haley is rallying support in New Hampshire and South Carolina coming off a third-place finish in the Iowa caucuses earlier this month. Trump won the caucuses with an overwhelming lead over any of the candidates, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Haley has argued that Iowa had poor turnout due to record low temperatures, with much of the state having been in below-zero weather on Election Day.

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“You look at Iowa. I mean President Trump won a state of three million people with 56,000 votes. We had a very low turnout in Iowa. We’re going to have a really good turnout in New Hampshire,” Haley told reporters on Friday.

Trump defended himself during a rally with supporters in New Hampshire this weekend, arguing he is more mentally fit than ever.

“I don’t mind being 80, but I’m 77, that’s a big difference,” he said. “I feel my mind is stronger now than it was 25 years ago.”

Former Trump attorney Joe Tacopina on Sunday said that while there may be a “political bent” to some of the criminal indictments that former president is facing, it is “absolutely” possible that he could be convicted.

Tacopina, who withdrew from Trump’s legal team last week, was asked about the likelihood of a jury convicting the former president during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Politics Nation.” 

“Is it possible? Absolutely,” Tacopina responded. “You have a jury of twelve who’s going to ultimately decide this.”

“Do I think there’s a political bent to some of this, the way it’s gone about?” he questioned. “Yes, I do. Do I think these cases are invalid cases? Look, a grand jury voted to indict. You can’t say there’s no way he’ll get convicted or no way he’ll be sentenced. You just can’t say that.”

LAWYER IN TRUMP DEFAMATION CASE WON’T INTRODUCE ‘ACCESS HOLLYWOOD’ TAPE AHEAD OF POSSIBLE TESTIMONY

Trump was indicted four times last year, including for alleged election interference in Georgia and in New York City for allegedly falsifying business records.

He was also indicted on multiple felony counts for the alleged improper retention of classified records from his time in the White House at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Fla., and four federal charges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot in Washington, D.C.

MAINE OFFICIAL APPEALS HER REMOVAL OF TRUMP FROM VOTING BALLOTS TO STATE’S TOP COURT

Last week, Trump appeared in Manhattan civil court for a defamation suit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, who alleges that Trump raped her at a department store. Trump denied the claim repeatedly, leading Carroll to sue him for defamation, arguing that his denial had harmed her reputation.

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Despite the numerous legal issues Trump is facing, he continues to lead in the polls for the Republican nomination for president. 

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the 2024 Republican presidential race and endorsed former President Trump two days before the New Hampshire primary.

The Florida governor announced his decision to suspend his campaign in a social media video on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday afternoon.

“If there was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome, more campaign stops, more interviews, I would do it,” DeSantis said in the video. “But I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don’t have a clear path to victory.”

“Accordingly, I am today suspending my campaign,” said DeSantis, who was a distant third in the single digits in the latest polls in New Hampshire.

THIS 2024 GOP CANDIDATE WAS TARGETED BY WAY MORE ATTACK ADS THAN ANY OTHER HEADING INTO THE PRIMARY ELECTIONS

DeSantis highlighted that he’s had “disagreements” with Trump but believes that the former president is a better leader than Biden.

“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” DeSantis continued. “They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance, and they see Democrats using lawfare this day to attack him.”

DeSantis noted that “I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee, and I will honor that pledge.”

CHECK OUT THE LATEST POLL NUMBERS IN THE NEW HAMPSHIRE PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY

Trump, who along with his allies spent months fiercely attacking DeSantis, told Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman that he was “very honored to have his endorsement.”

“I look forward to working together with him to beat Joe Biden, who is the worst and most corrupt president in the history of our country,” Trump said.

And Trump, who for months had used the derogatory nickname “Ron DeSanctimonious” on the campaign trail, said he wouldn’t be using that nickname going forward.

“No, that name has been officially retired,” Trump told Fox News Digital.

The Florida governor also took a chance to criticize former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who is a former two-term South Carolina governor and the other remaining major contender for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

TRUMP RUNNING MATE SPECULATION SOARS AS FORMER PRESIDENT CONSOLIDATES SUPPORT 

DeSantis said he endorsed Trump “because we can’t go back to the old Republican Guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form of warmed over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents.”

“The days of putting Americans last, of kowtowing to large corporations, of caving to woke ideology are over,” he added.

Haley, speaking at a campaign stop in Seabrook, New Hampshire, told the crowd, “I want to say to Ron, he ran a great race. He’s been a good governor. And we wish him well. Having said that, it’s now one fella and one lady left.”

And in a statement, Haley noted that “so far, only one state has voted. Half of its votes went to Donald Trump, and half did not. We’re not a country of coronations. Voters deserve a say in whether we go down the road of Trump and Biden again, or we go down a new conservative road. New Hampshire voters will have their say on Tuesday. When I’m president, I will do everything in my power to show them they made the right decision.”

A signal that the end was near came on Saturday night when DeSantis canceled two major Sunday talk show appearances. His campaign said at the time that the interviews were canceled to allow the governor to travel back to New Hampshire from South Carolina, where he was stumping on Saturday.

The DeSantis video was posted on Sunday afternoon, a couple of hours before the governor was scheduled to hold a campaign event in Manchester, New Hampshire. That stop was canceled and there was no word on whether DeSantis would fly to New Hampshire to join Trump ahead of Tuesday’s primary.

DeSantis, 45, finished in second place in last week’s Iowa caucuses with 20.1% of the vote, but he only narrowly defeated Haley and came in 30 points behind Trump, who achieved a record-breaking and commanding victory in the low-turnout Hawkeye State contest.

DeSantis’ departure from the race comes after his campaign went “all in” on Iowa, betting that a strong ground game, events, visits to all 99 counties and endorsements from top Iowa Republicans would propel him to a strong showing leading into elections in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

But his distant second-place finish, while it slightly exceeded expectations in the final polls, was seen as a major disappointment, considering all the time and resources he spent in Iowa.

The Democratic National Committee, taking aim at the Florida governor, charged that “Ron DeSantis pinned his entire campaign’s hopes on the same extreme MAGA agenda that both Donald Trump and Nikki Haley are still running on, and now he is the latest member of the GOP to fall in line behind the original MAGA brand.”

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DeSantis, who was convincingly re-elected to a second term as Florida governor 14 months ago, was once the clear alternative to Trump in the Republican White House race. Multiple polls showed DeSantis leading Trump early last year before he entered the race, but he faltered out of the gate with a glitch-riddled social media campaign announcement.

The governor was backed by the big-spending aligned super PAC Never Back Down. However, after a series of campaign setbacks over the summer and autumn, and after getting hammered by constant attacks and negative ads from Trump and his allies, DeSantis saw his support in the polls erode.

Dan Eberhart, a top DeSantis donor, bundler and surrogate, told Fox News Digital that “Ron DeSantis ran into a bump and the bump was named Trump.”

“This wasn’t about money. The campaign insists they had enough money to get to Super Tuesday. I think this was about data and polling and Gov. DeSantis being realistic about whether or not Trump was beatable,” Eberhart said.

And he added that “more importantly, I think this was about 2028, and DeSantis doesn’t want [a] 5 to 8% showing in New Hampshire on his record. Let’s face it, he’s the Republican voters’ de facto second choice, and he’s Trump voters’ second choice, and so he’s decided to get out and govern Florida.”

Fox News’ Bryan LLenas, Brooke Singman, Jamie Vera and Monica Oroz contributed to this report.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

EXETER, N.H. – Nikki Haley has a message for voters who were supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Republican presidential nomination race.

“What we say to DeSantis voters is it’s time for a new generation. It’s time to stop the chaos. It’s time to stop the noise and get America back on track,” Haley told Fox News Digital on Sunday ahead of a rally in the historic town of Exeter on the New Hampshire Seacoast.

The former South Carolina governor who later served as U.N. ambassador in former President Trump’s administration was interviewed a couple of hours after DeSantis suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump, the clear frontrunner in the 2024 GOP race.

RON DESANTIS ENDORSES DONALD TRUMP AS HE DROPS OUT OF THE 2024 GOP PRESIDENTIAL RACE

“We know that DeSantis supporters love America, and we know that they want a new generational conservative leader,” Haley, 52, emphasized. “And so what we’re saying is we’re going to fight for you. We’re going to earn your support.”

Trump, speaking at a rally in Rochester, New Hampshire, once again repeatedly blasted Haley. He charged – among other things – that she “puts America last” and “wants to gut Medicare.”

CHECK OUT THE LATEST POLL NUMBERS IN THE NEW HAMPSHIRE PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY

Haley pushed back against what she argued are Trump’s lies about her record and agenda.

“It is not what Donald Trump says. I have never said I want to raise the retirement age or cut social security. I’ve never raised a tax, regardless of what he says. He said multiple things, like I don’t believe in the border. I passed the toughest illegal immigration law in the country as governor,” she touted.

Trump, the commanding frontrunner in the GOP nomination race as he runs a third straight time for the White House, grabbed 51% of ballots cast in last week’s low-turnout Iowa Republican caucuses. DeSantis edged Haley out for a distant second place.

But DeSantis wasn’t a factor in New Hampshire, where independent voters have long played an influential role in the state’s storied presidential primary.

TRUMP RUNNING MATE SPECULATION SOARS AS FORMER PRESIDENT CONSOLIDATES SUPPORT 

Trump held 11-point and 19-point leads over Haley in two new polls released on Sunday morning, with DeSantis a distant third in the single digits before he dropped out of the race. His departure leaves Trump and Haley as the last major candidates battling for the nomination.

Haley has repeatedly declined to set expectations for her finish in New Hampshire, reiterating to reporters on Sunday at a stop in Epping that “we’ll find out what strong and stronger is on Election Day.”

Haley campaign manager Betsy Ankney told reporters on Saturday that they’re moving full speed ahead to South Carolina, which holds the next major contest in the GOP presidential nominating calendar, on Feb. 24.

Ankney said Haley will hold a large event in her hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday, the same day that the campaign will launch a $4 million statewide ad blitz.

Asked by Fox News if she’s moving on to her home state regardless of her finish in New Hampshire, Haley quickly responded “absolutely.”

“I can’t wait to make sure that we go and have that homecoming. And then I’m going to fight every day to earn their support. South Carolinians are smart. They’re tough. They expect you to do your homework,” she emphasized. “But I’ve won there twice. I know what it takes to do that and we’ll do it again.”

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Minutes after her Fox News interview, Haley took the stage at Exeter High School after being introduced by daytime TV host Judith Sheindlin, who is best known to Americans as Judge Judy.

“Please, New Hampshire. Use your brains and your heart,” Sheindlin stressed. “Bring her home on Tuesday.”

After the two hugged as Haley came on stage, the candidate said “how cool is it to have Judge Judy endorse you? It really is.”

Haley said of Sheindlin, “she’s a trailblazer. She’s tough. She speaks hard truths. She doesn’t mince words.”

And reacting to the roar of the crowd, Haley said “Can you hear that sound? That’s the sound of a two-person race.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., is engaged to marry his girlfriend Mindy Noce after proposing to her in Kiawah Island, South Carolina Saturday evening.

Scott, 58, confirmed his engagement during an appearance on Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy. Scott called his engagement the second most important decision behind becoming a Christian. 

“Going to the beach and getting on one knee, and asking Mindy to marry me was so much more important than anything else, and I wanted to make sure that that sacred day would not be disturbed by anything political,” Scott told Gowdy, speaking on his discussions with former President Donald Trump for an endorsement.  

As a presidential candidate in the 2024 race, Scott introduced Noce during a debate back in November. They reportedly met at church approximately a year ago and bonded over Bible study. 

TRUMP ADDRESSES ENTHUSIASTIC NEW HAMPSHIRE VOLUNTEERS, ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT OF ‘DESANCTIMONIOUS’ NICKNAME

Scott’s engagement came after his endorsement of Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Scott, who ended his own White House bid in November, became the third former Republican presidential candidate in the past week to endorse the former president for another term.

Later Sunday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped his bid for the White House and endorsed Trump for president. 

“We need a president who understands the American people are sick and tired of being sick and tired, we need,” Scott said as the crowd responded: “Donald Trump.” 

Scott later told Fox News that “it’s time for us to unite our party so that we make sure that the only target we’re talking about is firing Joe Biden.” 

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“Our country can’t take four more years. I’m not sure we could take ten more months,” he said. “The best way for us to get rid of Joe Biden as our president is to unite our party now behind Donald Trump.” 

Former President Donald Trump stopped by his campaign’s New Hampshire headquarters on Sunday, shortly after opponent Florida governor Ron DeSantis dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.

Speaking to Granite State volunteers, the former president told the crowd as he was leaving that he would stop calling DeSantis “Ron DeSanctimonious.”

“You know…it’s retired,” Trump said to the volunteer.

“Okay, I just said, will I be using the name Ron DeSanctimonious?” he added to the room of people. “I said, that name is officially retired. Thank you.”

FLORIDA GOV. RON DESANTIS DROPS OUT OF 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE, ENDORSES TRUMP

Later on Sunday night, Trump told supporters in Rochester, New Hampshire that his opponent “ran a really good campaign.”

“I’d like to take time to congratulate Ron DeSantis and, of course, a really terrific person who I had gotten to know his wife, Casey, for having run a great campaign for president,” Trump said. “He did. He ran a really good campaign.”

“I will tell you, it’s not easy,” he continued. “They think it’s easy doing this stuff, right. It’s not easy.”

The former president also called DeSantis “gracious” by giving Trump his endorsement.

FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY SAYS IT’S ‘ABSOLUTELY’ POSSIBLE FORMER PRESIDENT IS CONVICTED

“He was very gracious and he endorsed me, so I appreciate it,” Trump added. “I appreciate that. And I also look forward to working with Ron and everybody else to defeat Crooked Joe Biden.”

“We will have to get him out,” the former president continued. “We have to go back. He’s put our country at great peril, at great. So I just want to thank Ron and congratulate him on doing a very good job. It’s a tough situation. It’s a tough thing to do.”

Earlier on Sunday, DeSantis announced the suspension of his campaign in a video on X.

DESANTIS SUSPENDS CAMPAIGN; 2 DAYS TILL NEW HAMPSHIRE, IT’S A 2-PERSON PRIMARY

“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” the Florida governor said. “They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance, and they see Democrats using lawfare to this day to attack him.”

“If there was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome, more campaign stops, more interviews, I would do it,” DeSantis said in the video. “But I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don’t have a clear path to victory.”

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Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub

Fox News’ Bret Baier caught up with former President Donald Trump in Bedford, New Hampshire on Saturday to discuss the 2024 presidential race ahead of Tuesday’s highly anticipated primary in the state.  

The 2024 frontrunner discussed beating GOP rivals Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who came in second, and former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who came in third in the Iowa primary. 

Trump hit back at Haley after she questioned the former commander-in-chief’s mental capacity after he appeared to mix her up with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a rally this week. 

“She’s just trying to get a little nasty because she came in third place. She wanted to come in second. And she wasn’t even that close, actually, to second. You know, I have to give that to Ron De-sanctimonious,” Trump said, referring to his penchant for coming up with nicknames for his opponents. Most recently, Trump referred to Haley – the daughter of Indian immigrants – as “Nimbra,” referring to her birth name of “Nimrata.” 

FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY SAYS IT’S ‘ABSOLUTELY’ POSSIBLE FORMER PRESIDENT IS CONVICTED

Haley earned 21,085 caucus votes, or just under 20% in Iowa, putting her behind second-place finisher Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who had 23,420 votes, or 21.2%. Trump trounced all of his challengers, winning an outright majority at 51%, with 56,260 votes in a historic caucus victory that resoundingly confirmed his frontrunner status. 

That frontrunner status was further cemented later Sunday when DeSantis dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Trump. 

Responding to Haley’s assertion that Trump’s political indictments have become a liability on the campaign trail, Trump dismissed them as “Biden indictments.” 

“He is bad for democracy … He is very dangerous,” Trump said of his Democratic rival in the White House. “He can’t win fair and square. The guy can’t put two sentences together.” 

Trump also took shots at Fani Willis, the Fulton County District Attorney who was accused of having an improper romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she appointed to prosecute the election interference case against the former president. 

“They did this. This is all political stuff, and it’s a very bad thing for our country,” Trump said. “And remember, that goes the other way too. If a Republican gets in … they can do the same thing to a Democrat.” 

On the question of a potential pick for vice president, Trump said: “There’s no rush to that.” 

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New Hampshire’s first-in-the nation primary comes Tuesday, January 23 – just two days after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he was suspending his campaign. 

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the 2024 presidential race Sunday and endorsed former President Donald Trump in the race, sparking applause from some social media commenters. 

“If there was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome, more campaign stops, more interviews, I would do it. But I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don’t have a clear path to victory. Accordingly, I am today suspending my campaign,” DeSantis said Sunday in a video posted to his X account Sunday afternoon. 

DeSantis continued that despite previously having disagreements with Trump, he is throwing his support behind the 45th president in his run for the White House this year. 

“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” he said, adding: “He has my 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.”

DESANTIS SUSPENDS CAMPAIGN, TWO DAYS TILL NEW HAMPSHIRE IT’S A TWO-PERSON PRIMARY

The announcement was made just before the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, and after Trump easily won the Iowa caucuses last week. 

Some Republicans and conservatives on social media celebrated the move as one that would strengthen Trump’s campaign to defeat President Biden come November, while others thanked DeSantis for his conservative policies on the campaign trail. 

“GREAT move by Governor Ron DeSantis! President @realDonaldTrump is uniting the GOP & we are closer than ever to taking our country back! #Trump2024,” former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake posted on X. 

DESANTIS CANCELS NBC, CNN APPEARANCES SUNDAY OVER SCHEDULING ISSUE AHEAD OF NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY

Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy, who endorsed DeSantis’ presidential run, said he was proud of the campaign and added “we will restore freedom & American prosperity again.”

The announcement comes just ahead of the New Hampshire primary, where polls show Trump is leading the race against top primary competitor Nikki Haley. 

RON DESANTIS ARGUES TIM SCOTT ENDORSEMENT OF DONALD TRUMP ‘IS A BLOW TO NIKKI HALEY’ 

Trump has 55% support among those likely to vote in the primary, compared to Haley’s 36% support and DeSantis’ 6% support, a Suffolk University, the Boston Globe and NBC10 poll found. Other polls have found a tighter margin between Trump and Haley, including a CNN poll that found Trump has 50% support to Haley’s 39%.

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The New Hampshire race will now include only Trump and Haley. 

Last week, former President Trump secured a win in Iowa during the first contest of the 2024 presidential nomination calendar.

“We want to thank the great people of Iowa,” he said in a caucus victory speech in Des Moines. The former president stood at 51% of the ballots and captured the majority of the votes on caucus night.

Many GOP lawmakers are standing in support of Trump as he runs in the 2024 election against his Republican and Democrat opponents, including President Biden and GOP hopeful Nikki Haley.

Here are just a few of the politicians who have endorsed Trump as the GOP 2024 presidential nominee.

TRUMP SAYS LEGAL WOES ARE A BIDEN, DEMOCRAT PARTY SETUP: ‘NEW FORM OF CHEATING’

Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla.

“This is America’s time for choosing,” DeSantis said in a video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter. “We can choose to allow a border invasion, or we can choose to stop it. We can choose reckless borrowing and spending, or we can choose to limit government and lower inflation. We can choose political indoctrination, or we can choose classical education.”

After suspending his own presidential campaign on Sunday, DeSantis added, “It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance.”

“While I’ve had disagreements with Donald Trump, such as on the coronavirus pandemic and his elevation of [Dr.] Anthony Fauci, Trump is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clear,” DeSantis continued. “I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee, and I will honor that pledge. He has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear.”

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.

“In this race, there is one man who has a proven track record of being able to save our country and get us back on track: Donald Trump,” Scalise said. “He has done it once before, and I know he will do it again.”

“I am proud to endorse Donald Trump for president in 2024, and I look forward to working with President Trump and a Republican House and Senate to fight for those families who are struggling under the weight of Biden’s failed policies,” he said.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas

“I am proud to endorse Donald Trump for president of the United States,” Cruz told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on “Hannity.” “I look forward to supporting him enthusiastically.”

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark.

Cotton highlighted the safety and strength of America under Trump and how “everything has gone to hell” under President Biden.

“I endorse President Trump and I look forward to working with him to win back the White House and the Senate so we can help hardworking Arkansans suffering from Joe Biden’s disastrous policies.”

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D.

“I am honored to stand with Donald J. Trump as he embarks on a mission to restore peace, prosperity and freedom in our great nation,” Cramer wrote. “Lets consolidate Republican support around the leader of our GOP and ensure a Republican victory in 2024. Work with him to Make America Great Again!”

TRUMP CAMPAIGN CONFIDENT NEW HAMPSHIRE GROUND GAME STRATEGY WILL CATAPULT TRUMP TO 3RD PRIMARY WIN IN STATE

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D.

“President Trump is strong on the issues that are important for North Dakota. That includes making America energy dominant, reducing the regulatory burden, securing our border, growing our economy and strong support for our military,” Hoeven wrote on Facebook last week.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala.

“One candidate has already proven he’s more than up for the job – because he’s done the job successfully. There is one candidate I know will secure the border – because he’s done it. There is one candidate I know will achieve peace through strength – because he’s done it,” she wrote. “And that’s why President Donald Trump has my endorsement to be our 47th President.”

Trump has received support from every GOP member in Alabama’s congressional delegation.

Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn.

“It’s time for Republicans to unite behind our party’s clear [front-runner,] which is why I am proud to endorse Donald J. Trump for President.”

House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.

On Nov. 11, 2022, Stefanik was the first Republican leader in the chamber to endorse Trump.

“Republican voters determine who is the leader of the Republican Party and it’s very clear President Trump is the leader of the Republican [P]arty. What the media fails to report is that we just won the midterms and flipped the House,” Stefanik told Breitbart News in a statement.

National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Richard Hudson, R-N.C.

Hudson endorsed Trump in 2022, around the same time Stefanik did.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

Last week, Johnson praised the ex-president and said he was key to the GOP winning back the Senate, White House and retaining the House in November.

MEET TOM EMMER, THE GOP MAJORITY WHIP AND NOMINEE FOR HOUSE SPEAKER

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan.

“Our farmers and ranchers feed the world, and Kansans deserve a President who understands that, and a leader who values the energy Americans produce. That is why I’m endorsing President Donald Trump. While others may try to imitate him, only President Trump will put our country back on track on day one,” he said.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

“When Trump was in WH I achieved major policies I had worked on for years (like expanded Child Tax Credit & tough sanctions on regime in Cuba & Venezuela) because we had a President who didn’t cave to special interests or let bureaucrats block us,” Rubio wrote on X.

“I support Trump because that kind of leadership is the ONLY way we will get the extraordinary actions needed to fix the disaster Biden has created,” he added. “It’s time to get on with the work of beating Biden & saving America!”

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Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird

“President Trump’s poll numbers are unprecedented for a Republican running in the Iowa caucuses. So that is great news. The key thing to remember is that the only thing that matters is the one that happens on caucus [night].”

Twenty-four senators, over 116 House members and nine governors have endorsed Trump as the presidential nominee in 2024, according to ABC.

The former president has been barred from the Colorado ballot. The Supreme Court will be hearing oral arguments for the case on Feb. 8.

Twenty-seven states, however, are standing in support of Trump over the ballot fight.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is gearing up for her one-on-one primary battle against former President Donald Trump in New Hampshire after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race on Sunday afternoon. 

“We just heard that Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race. And I want to say to Ron, he ran a great race. He’s been a good governor. And we wish him well,” Haley said at a campaign stop in New Hampshire. 

“Having said that, it’s now one fella and one lady left,” Haley continued, referring to herself and Trump. “There were 14 people in this race, a lot fellas, all the fellas are out, except for this one. And this comes down to what do you want? Do you want more of the same or do you want something new?”

DeSantis dropped out of the presidential race via a video posted to his X account, and threw his support behind Trump and called Haley a “repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism.”

DESANTIS SUSPENDS CAMPAIGN, TWO DAYS TIL NEW HAMPSHIRE IT’S A TWO-PERSON PRIMARY

“If there was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome, more campaign stops, more interviews, I would do it. But I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don’t have a clear path to victory. Accordingly, I am today suspending my campaign,” DeSantis said.

TRUMP ‘VERY HONORED’ BY DESANTIS ENDORSEMENT AFTER FLORIDA GOVERNOR SUSPENDS PRESIDENTIAL RUN

“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” he said, adding: “He has my 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.”

The announcement comes after Trump handily won the Iowa caucuses last week, winning 98 of the 99 counties, and is leading polls ahead of the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday. 

RON DESANTIS ARGUES TIM SCOTT ENDORSEMENT OF DONALD TRUMP ‘IS A BLOW TO NIKKI HALEY’ 

Trump has 55% support among those likely to vote in the primary, compared to Haley’s 36% support and DeSantis’ 6% support, a Suffolk University, the Boston Globe and NBC10 poll found. Other polls have found a tighter margin between Trump and Haley, including a CNN poll that found Trump has 50% support to Haley’s 39%.

DESANTIS CANCELS NBC, CNN APPEARANCES SUNDAY OVER SCHEDULING ISSUE AHEAD OF NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY

“We’re gonna get our kids reading again and go back to the basics in education. We’re gonna secure our border once and for all,” Haley continued in her remarks to voters after DeSantis dropped out. “And we are going to have a strong America that we can all be proud of. That’s our goal. That’s what we’re doing. We’ve got two days until New Hampshire goes to the polls. And we’re going to make sure that we fight all the way until the last second.”

“May the best woman win,” she continued. 

Trump told Fox News Digital on Sunday that he’s “very honored” DeSantis endorsed his run for the White House, adding he looks forward “to working together with him to beat Joe Biden.” 

“Very honored to have his endorsement,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “I look forward to working together with him to beat Joe Biden, who is the worst and most corrupt president in the history of our country.”

Former President Trump said he is “very honored” by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ endorsement, telling Fox News Digital he is looking forward “to working together with him to beat Joe Biden.” 

FLORIDA GOV. RON DESANTIS DROPS OUT OF 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE, ENDORSES TRUMP

DeSantis suspended his 2024 presidential campaign on Sunday, and endorsed Trump. 

“Very honored to have his endorsement,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “I look forward to working together with him to beat Joe Biden, who is the worst and most corrupt president in the history of our country.”

The Florida governor announced his decision to drop out in social media video on X, formally known as Twitter, on Sunday afternoon.

FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY SAYS IT’S ‘ABSOLUTELY’ POSSIBLE FORMER PRESIDENT IS CONVICTED

“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance.  They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance and they see Democrats using lawfare to this day to attack him,” DeSantis said Sunday. “While I have 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.” 

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DeSantis said Trump has 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.”

Trump won the Iowa Caucuses last Monday, solidifying his standing as the frontrunner. Trump is leading by double digits in New Hampshire ahead of Haley.

A New Hampshire man received probation after admitting to threatening to kill Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., whom he accused in a voicemail of “coming for the gays.” 

Allan Poller, 24, had already pleaded guilty in October to transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure the person of another. 

He was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay a $500 fine in federal court on Thursday, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.

Poller, a Keene State College student at the time, called the Washington, D.C., office of a member of the U.S. House of Representatives on March 29, 2023, and left a voicemail message stating in part, “I just want to let you know, Representative [Name], if you keep on coming for the gays, we’re gonna strike back and I guarantee you, you do not want to f— with us.”

TRUMP MAINTAINS BIG LEAD IN POLLS, NEW ENGLAND NEWSPAPERS ENDORSE HALEY

The FBI affidavit redacted the name of the member of Congress, but Gaetz previously confirmed he was the recipient of the voicemail. 

In an episode of his podcast “Firebrand,” Gatez played out a snippet of Poller making the death threat.  

“We will kill you if that’s what it takes. I will take a bullet to your f—ing head if you f— with my rights anymore. And then if you want to keep going down that path, you know who’s next,” Poller said in the call placed at approximately 12:20 a.m., according to the FBI affidavit. 

Poller, a men’s track athlete for Keene State, according to his profile on the school’s website, was arrested on April 3, 2023. 

Prosecutors say Poller later admitted to placing the call and leaving the message. He allegedly stated to investigators that he had been drinking and left the message after becoming angry while watching videos on the social media application TikTok.

SC CONGRESSMAN TOUTS NIKKI HALEY’S ‘YOUTH,’ HITS TRUMP’S AGE AFTER PELOSI JAN. 6 MIX-UP

Prosecutors previously said the charging statute provided a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. 

Poller “has used the catastrophic effect of his actions as a catalyst to begin a new path in his life,” a sentencing memorandum written by his attorney read, according to WBTS. “He has strengthened his bond with his family and has completely accepted recovery into his life.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office stressed how Poller, “is a young man who has faced dramatic challenges in his life but had no prior contacts with the criminal justice system. He has also already faced significant consequences as a result of his conduct, arrest, and plea in this case.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Gaetz’s office for comment on Sunday. 

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The FBI and U.S. Capitol Police led the investigation, with assistance provided by the Keene Police Department and the Springfield, Vermont, Police Department. 

Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance argued 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley would likely be unable to survive Democratic attacks if elected the party’s nominee, saying she’s “the candidate that Democrats haven’t teed off on.”

“Nikki does have baggage. She just hasn’t faced the onslaught of years of media attacks, of super PAC attacks that Donald Trump has faced. And frankly, the fact that Trump is still standing and still leading in the polls against Joe Biden suggests he has real political resilience,” Vance told Fox News’ Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday.”

Bream aired a clip of her asking New Hampshire voters who they supported ahead of the Granite State’s primary on Tuesday, with one woman explaining she’s voting for Haley because she has “no baggage.” Vance, who is serving as a surrogate for the Trump campaign, pushed back that Haley does have “baggage,” but Democrats have not attacked her, as they have Trump, in recent years. 

FIRST ON FOX: TRUMP ALLY SEN JD VANCE ENDORSES IN OHIO’S 2024 GOP SENATE PRIMARY, BACKING BERNIE MORENO

“I know a lot of people who are choosing Nikki Haley think she’s the low baggage candidate. In reality, she’s the candidate that Democrats haven’t teed off on, but they will tee off on her if she’s the nominee,” Vance said, adding that Haley “won’t be” the nominee.

TRUMP MAINTAINS MASSIVE LEAD IN NEW HAMPSHIRE DAYS AHEAD OF FIRST PRIMARY: POLL

“But if she is [the nominee], she will face exactly what Donald Trump has faced for the past six years, and I don’t think she’ll survive, and I certainly don’t think she’ll win the presidency through it. That’s why we need to elect the guy who’s shown some resilience. That’s why we need to nominate Donald Trump,” he said. 

Trump solidified himself as the Republican frontrunner for 2024 last week, when he handily won the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses. He is now focusing on the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday. 

While some polls, such as one published by American Research Group Inc., showed Haley and Trump tied for support, others have shown Trump with a stronger advantage over the former South Carolina governor. 

HALEY TURNS UP THE HEAT ON TRUMP AS SHE TRIES TO CLOSE THE GAP IN THE NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY

Trump has 55% support among those likely to vote in the primary, compared to Haley’s 36% support and DeSantis’ 6% support, a Suffolk University, the Boston Globe and NBC10 poll found. 

Bream cited the Suffolk poll, as well as a CNN poll that found Trump has 50% support to Haley’s 39%, and noted to Vance that many voters in New Hampshire are undeclared, but vote in the GOP primary. 

TRUMP SAYS NIKKI HALEY ‘HAS NO CHANCE’ AHEAD OF NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY: ‘MAGA IS NOT GOING TO BE WITH HER’

“There are a couple of newspaper editorials today endorsing Nikki Haley, telling people if you’re independent get out, ‘save the country and vote in that GOP primary.’ I mean, that’s a substantial group of people here. How concerned are you about them showing up and not choosing President Trump on Tuesday?” Bream asked. 

Vance responded that liberals who recently moved out of Massachusetts to New Hampshire would “never” vote for a Republican nominee – whether they be Trump or Haley – and are instead “trying to play spoiler to Donald Trump” and his primary race. 

“I think a lot of them are going to vote for Donald Trump and also liberal… many of them from Massachusetts who are moving to New Hampshire, they’re never going to vote for a Republican nominee, even if it’s Nikki Haley,” Vance said. 

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“They’re just trying to play spoiler to Donald Trump. But I think Republicans really have to ask ourselves, do we want liberal suburbanites from Massachusetts to choose our nominee? Or do we want to choose our nominee as Republicans and independent-minded conservatives? I think if we choose our nominee, Donald Trump is going to win, and he’s going to win handily,” Vance added. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

President Biden’s principal deputy campaign manager, when pressed about the commander in chief’s mental sharpness, argued the 2024 election “is not going to be about age.” 

“When it comes to the president’s age, we have a simple formula for that, and that’s results,” Quentin Fulks told ABC’s “This Week” host Martha Raddatz. “And you know, age equals wisdom, equals results and experience. And President Biden, because of his age, has come to the table and brought people together from both sides of the aisle to deliver results for the American people, whether it be a historic bipartisan infrastructure bill, whether it has been bringing people to the table for job creation, making sure that inflation is down – the president has been delivering results, and our best answer to this is to continue to communicate about the things that people care about, Americans care about.”

“This election is not going to be about age,” Fulks added. “This election is about freedom and democracy, and the fact that Democrats under President Biden’s leadership believe that people deserve more freedom, not less. And Republicans want to roll that back and rip it away.” 

According to a new ABC News/Ipso poll conducted Jan. 4-8, 69% of respondents do not think Biden has the mental sharpness to be president – up from just 43% in May 2020.  

SC CONGRESSMAN TOUTS NIKKI HALEY’S ‘YOUTH,’ HITS TRUMP’S AGE AFTER PELOSI JAN. 6 MIX-UP

Fulks’ remarks come after former President Trump during a New Hampshire campaign rally on Friday used Nikki Haley’s name when describing allegations about Nancy Pelosi on Jan. 6. The apparent mix-up called attention to how Trump has long alleged Pelosi, as House speaker at the time, turned down 10,000 National Guard troops the day before the Capitol riot. 

TRUMP MIXES UP NIKKI HALEY WITH NANCY PELOSI AT NEW HAMPSHIRE RALLY

Haley branded the mix-up as a gaffe, calling into question Trump’s mental fitness ahead of the New Hampshire primaries, but some conservative voices on X championed how the on-stage remark prompted national news headlines on how Pelosi was allegedly in charge of security while Congress was certifying the 2020 election results. 

Trump, who will turn 78 in June, is just about four years younger than Biden, who will turn 82 in November. 

“I don’t mind being 80, but I’m 77. That’s a big difference,” Trump said at a campaign rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, Saturday.

“It’s not age. Different people, different strokes,” Trump added. “I feel my mind is stronger now than it was 25 years ago. Is that possible? I really do. Now, Biden can’t say that. Look, you know he can’t say that. You know, he can’t say that, you know, there’s something going on.” 

Trump said Biden’s public comments last for a very short period of time, recalling how he mocked Biden last week that “he can never find the stairs” when leaving speaking engagements. 

Some Democrats have also called Biden’s mental sharpness into question.  

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Last week, Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., gained the endorsement of former 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang on Thursday, who, while addressing voters in New Hampshire, said it will be hard for Biden at his age to “reinvent grandpa” and added it was time to upgrade from the predicted Biden vs. Trump rematch that “no one wants.”

Phillips, who is considered to be a moderate Minnesotan, is a long shot to lead the Democratic presidential ticket, but he and Yang were campaigning in the Granite State ahead of the primary on Jan. 23.

Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.