Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley for not endorsing former President Donald Trump after she bowed out of the Republican primary race earlier this week, referencing the GOP’s loyalty pledge.
“I signed the pledge and you signed the pledge saying that you’re gonna not take your ball and go home,” DeSantis said on Newsmax’s “The Balance” with Eric Bolling when asked about Haley’s decision. “And so I honored the pledge and she’s gonna have to make a decision about whether she wants to or not.”
“But the idea that somehow circumstances have changed — I think we all knew what we were doing when we did that, and you got to make a judgment about whether that’s meaningful to you, he added. “And so for me, I tell people, you know, if I say I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it.”
The Republican National Committee (RNC) required candidates who wanted to qualify for the debate stage to sign a loyalty pledge vowing to support the eventual GOP nominee. Haley, along with the other major candidates in the race, signed the pledge.
Trump, who refused to participate in the debates, citing his wide lead in the polls, did not sign.
Now, many of the previous challengers to the former president have chosen to endorse Trump since leaving the presidential race, including DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a frequent critic of the likely GOP nominee, has vowed to not vote for Trump “under any circumstances,” since he dropped out of the race before the Iowa caucuses.
Haley said during her suspension announcement Wednesday that Trump would need to “earn” the votes of her supporters.
“It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him, and I hope he does that,” Haley said in remarks to supporters. “At its best, politics is about bringing people into your cause, not turning them away.”
“And our conservative cause badly needs more people,” she added. “This is now his time for choosing.”
