In the ongoing Republican primaries for the highly anticipated 2024 election, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Donald Trump have emerged as the three frontrunners. This trio has dominated discussions and polls, seemingly representing a wide range of views within the Republican Party. That said, a pivotal turn occurred on Jan. 21 when DeSantis announced his withdrawal from the race. In a surprising twist DeSantis not only exited the competition, but he also endorsed the campaign of former U.S. President Donald Trump. This tactical move shows Trump’s enduring influence and dominance over the Republican Party, raising essential questions about the path forward for the primaries and the party’s future under the imminent shadow of Trumpism. 

DeSantis ended his bid for the Republican nomination after a “devastating 30 percentage point loss” to Trump in the Iowa caucuses. To demonstrate his extreme commitment to winning the nomination, DeSantis invested significant time and money into Iowa, crisscrossing the state and courting Iowa’s influential evangelical voters, as highlighted by political correspondent for Reuters James Oliphant. Despite DeSantis’ efforts to win over Republican voters in a state he has emphasized is pivotal to his strategy, he could not withstand the power of Trump’s loyal supporters. The detrimental loss not only undermined DeSantis’ legitimacy as a viable alternative to Trump, but also left no reason for him to continue his unsuccessful campaign. Dropping out just two days before the New Hampshire primary election, DeSantis ensured Haley would now be the only opposing candidate to Trump. 

In a video DeSantis posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, he claimed, “Trump is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clear. I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee, and I will honor the pledge. He has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear.” With this, DeSantis highlighted the need to abandon the “old Republican guard” and focus on Trump as the future direction of the party. DeSantis was once seen as the most realistic candidate to defeat Trump. Now, with him out of the race and endorsing Trump, it is almost inevitable that Trump will be the Republican nominee. 

Senior Writer at U.S. News Lauren Camera said that, “Not long ago, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was the conservative policy wunderkind considered the GOP’s solution for reuniting the Republican Party in a post-Trump world.” DeSantis’ decision to exit the race and endorse Trump has shifted the dynamics of the Republican primaries and the party as a whole, showing Trump’s lasting influence. However, is it a shock that Trump’s most formidable threat was forced to drop out of the race? Evidently, no one can out-Trump Donald Trump himself.

Trump has terrifyingly shifted the trajectory of the Republican Party. The Republicans with the most power in the government are the ones who are closely aligned with Trump. House Speaker Mike Johnson, as a longtime ally of Trump, recently became one of the highest-ranking Republicans to back Trump’s 2024 presidential bid. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise announced his endorsement of Trump’s presidential campaign on Jan. 2, becoming one of the most important Republicans to support him formally.

Republicans who do not support Trump or who criticize him are often ousted from Congress. During Trump’s second impeachment trial for incitement of insurrection, 10 House Republicans voted to impeach him. Out of the 10 representatives, only two remain in the House: David Valadao and Dan Newhouse. Trump has so much influence that it has been a career-ending move for some politicians to oppose him.

When DeSantis announced his presidential campaign in May 2023, he said he wanted to “end the culture of losing that has infected the Republican Party in recent years.” Many Republicans believed Trump would win in the 2020 election, but he lost by a landslide. Trump received 232 electoral votes, with 270 required to win, whereas Biden received significantly more with 306. After Trump lost the presidency, two runoff elections occurred in Georgia, and Democrats won both, meaning Republicans lost control of the Senate. During the 2022 midterm elections, the majority of candidates in key battleground states who propagated false claims about the 2020 election lost. NBC News projections showed out of 13 races in six battleground states where an election denier was running for governor, secretary of state or attorney general, 12 were unsuccessful. 

Furthermore, right before he entered the race, DeSantis’ gubernatorial campaign manager and closest aide, Generra Peck, said, “Everyone knows the majority of the Republican Party wants to move on,” referring to Trump. Regardless of whether or not this claim is true, the majority of the Republican Party wants to move on from Trump. However, it seems that moving forward is simply not realistic, given the amount of power Trump possesses. As long as the culture of blindly supporting Trump to avoid losing political power exists, Trump will remain in control. 

While DeSantis may have never stood a real chance against Trump, it is important that whoever the Democratic nominee is — most likely President Biden — defeats Trump. According to AP News, if Trump is elected president again, he will try to strip tens of thousands of career employees of their civil service protections, immediately stop illegal immigration, especially from the southern border, institute a system of tariffs of perhaps 10% on most foreign goods affecting trade, end American aid going to Ukraine, ask Congress to pass a bill establishing only two genders are recognized which diminishes transgender rights, increase oil drilling on public lands and send the National Guard to cities struggling with violence. All of these proposed policies pose significant threats to our democracy, as they collectively risk undermining institutional safeguards, economic stability, international relations and diplomacy, civil rights, environmental sustainability and the legitimate use of military forces on our homeland. 

The only path forward for the Republican Party is to distance themselves from Trump. While DeSantis’ choice to suspend his campaign has solidified Trump’s power in the primaries and over the Republican Party, it is essential for the party to reevaluate its future and focus on building a more inclusive and diverse approach to elections. Republicans should not have to fear being exiled from their party and office seats for not aligning with Trump. It is dangerous for one person to control an entire party, and the Republican Party must seek more candidates who offer a broad spectrum of beliefs and values. Let’s end Trumpism.