EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump will be joined on stage in New Hampshire Monday night by former opponents, now endorsers Sen. Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy and Doug Burgum in a “show of force” that the Republican Party is “united and ready to take on Joe Biden,” Fox News Digital has learned.
Trump is set to hold a rally at 9:00 p.m. in Laconia, New Hampshire, Monday night — just hours before the state’s first-in-the-nation primary. Trump is leading former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley by double digits in recent polling.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaking during a campaign event in Rochester, N.H., Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
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A Trump campaign official told Fox News Digital that Trump on Monday night will be joined on stage by Scott, R-S.C., Ramaswamy and Burgum. The three former GOP presidential candidates will speak on stage and take part in media interviews.
“This is designed as a show of force that the party is united and ready to take on Joe Biden,” the official told Fox News Digital.
US entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy (R) endorses Republican presidential candidate former US President Donald Trump during a campaign event at the Atkinson Resort and Country Club in Atkinson, New Hampshire, on January 16, 2024. (TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)
The official said that “all three VIP guests — former opponents, now endorsers — will be drawing a sharp contrast to Joe Biden in a preview of the general election that is now here.”
TRUMP ‘VERY HONORED’ BY DESANTIS ENDORSEMENT AFTER FLORIDA GOVERNOR SUSPENDS PRESIDENTIAL RUN
The GOP primary field shrunk down to just Trump and Haley on Sunday after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended his presidential campaign. Trump, who has been leading by massive margins since he announced his candidacy, won the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 15, solidifying his standing as the front-runner.
Senator Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, right, speaks while standing next to former US President Donald Trump during a campaign event in Concord, New Hampshire, US, on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024. (Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In announcing the end of his presidential run, DeSantis put his full support behind Trump, endorsing him as the right candidate for the party.
Trump said Sunday that he was “honored” by DeSantis’ endorsement, telling Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview: “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.”
A Trump campaign official told Fox News Digital that while there are no immediate plans, the door is open for DeSantis to join Trump on the campaign trail.
Doug Burgum, governor of North Dakota, center, endorses former US President Donald Trump, while joined by Kathryn Burgum, North Dakota’s first lady, left, during a campaign event at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, US, on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
DeSantis, in endorsing Trump, said it is “clear” Republican 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 [Dr.] 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, who has dubbed DeSantis “Ron DeSanctimonious” on the campaign trail, says he won’t be using that nickname in the future. “No, that name has been officially retired,” Trump told Fox News Digital.
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