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By Katherine Fung
Senior Writer
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Supporters of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' now suspended campaign are sending a warning to Donald Trump, threatening to withhold their votes from him should he win the GOP nomination this summer.
On Sunday, DeSantis announced his decision to drop out of the presidential race in a video on X (formerly Twitter), marking the end of a once-promising campaign from a candidate who was widely seen as a top contender for the GOP nomination. After admitting that his campaign lacked "a clear path to victory," DeSantis endorsed Trump, describing his rival as "superior to the current incumbent."
But DeSantis' supporters may not be as willing as he is to embrace Trump's bid to reclaim the White House. A number of DeSantis backers expressed their frustrations with Trump supporters, whom they tangled with during the nomination race, and signaled that they could be holding a grudge that has the potential to cost the GOP the general election.
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Responding to a post on X from Trump-aligned political consultant Alex Bruessewitz calling on MAGA supporters to "show grace" to DeSantis, several backers of the governor hit back.
"Oh, so now, we aren't traitors, RINOs or Democrats anymore. Good luck losing in November," Maria Peiro, a former Republican House candidate and outspoken supporter of DeSantis' White House bid, tweeted.
A popular pro-DeSantis account, Mayor of DeSantisville, also replied to Bruessewitz, tweeting: "My decision to #DumpTrump occurred before I ever heard your sorry name. Nothing you did made this two time Trump voter anti-Trump and nothing you can do will make me vote for him again. #NeverAgainTrump."
Another pro-DeSantis account, @KaladinFree, warned Trump supporters that their candidate of choice "can't afford to lose ANY" DeSantis fans. It said that if Trump lost the 2020 election, presumably with the support of all the voters who backed DeSantis this time around, there is no way for Trump can win the 2024 race with only some of those voters.
Reached for comment, the Trump campaign referred Newsweek to its Sunday statement commending DeSantis' endorsement of the former president.
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"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 shortly after the governor's announcement. It added that it was time for Republican voters "to choose wisely" and rally behind President Trump."
Former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis, who supported DeSantis' run for president, criticized the statement and accused the Trump campaign of trying to downplay its previous attacks on the governor.
"It's 'Governor Ron DeSantis' now, is it? No more Ro[n] DeSanctimonious? We're all just supposed to forget? They think so. I don't," Ellis tweeted.
Several pro-Trump accounts appeared to acknowledge the critical role that DeSantis supporters would play in getting the former president elected back into the White House. Those accounts called on the two sides to put the past behind them and urged the MAGA community to embrace DeSantis voters.
Political activist Blake Marnell, also known as Brick Suit for the suit he wears in support of Trump's stance on a border wall, said it's "long" been his position that Trump supporters should welcome DeSantis' "with open arms." Podcaster Eric Matheny said a rift between Trump and DeSantis backers in the general election would amount to the "political equivalent of a murder-suicide."
MAGA podcaster Brenden Dilley told DeSantis backers the attacks from the Trump camp weren't "personal" and urged them to unite behind Trump even if they didn't like him and other pro-Trump figures.
Still, some DeSantis supporters remain defiant and refuse to switch their allegiance to Trump.
"Unfortunately for the Trump camp, I don't suffer from battered wife's syndrome. You don't get to knock me around and then pretend like you love me when you need me," @Floridagirl0850 tweeted.
"I'm done with Trump. Yes, DeSantis was the superior choice, but now we are stuck with this trash," another X user wrote. "Do NOT donate to the RNC or to Trump's campaign, 80% of your $ will go to his legal bills, nothing left for house/senate seats. Donate locally. We must keep the House."
Peiro agreed, saying she would continue to donate to Republican candidates down the ballot but will not contribute to Trump's campaign.
Political commentator An0maly declared that the Democrats had already won with DeSantis out of the race, saying that the "elites" had "successfully memory-holed Covid" and telling Republicans, "It's over. Have fun this election."
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