Trump thanks DeSantis for his endorsement, calling him 'gracious'

Former President Donald J. Trump on Sunday thanked Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida for supporting him after suspending his campaign, calling Mr. DeSantis — once a top rival who spent much time bashing Mr. Trump in his speeches — “ ' mentioned.

Speaking to a packed audience at a historic theater in Rochester, N.H., Mr. Trump called Mr. DeSantis' wife, Casey, a “truly wonderful person.” And he said Mr. DeSantis “ran a very good campaign.”

“I'll tell you it's not easy,” Trump said. “They think it's easy to run this stuff, right? It is not easy.”

He continued, “But as you know, he left the campaign trail today at 3 p.m.,” adding, “And on top of that, he was very friendly and supportive, so I appreciate that.”

For months, Trump made attacking DeSantis a central point in his campaign speeches, especially in Iowa. He denounced Mr. DeSantis as disloyal, calling him a bad governor and suggesting he was a political opportunist whose positions had changed when he ran for president.

But after Mr. Trump's dominant victory in the Iowa caucuses, in which Mr. DeSantis finished a distant second, Mr. Trump shifted his focus to Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, who is his closest rival in the New Hampshire primaries. .

In speeches over the past week, Mr. Trump took particular swipes at Mr. DeSantis in casual asides that suggested he was not worth his time.

“You'll notice I haven't mentioned the name Ron DeSanctimonious yet,” Trump said at a rally in Manchester on Saturday, using a mocking name he gave the Florida governor last year. “I think he's gone.”

Sunday may have been the first day in months that Trump did not use that nickname. Earlier in the day, he told supporters at his campaign headquarters in Manchester that he would no longer use that nickname after Mr. DeSantis left the race.

“Should I use the name Ron DeSantimonious?” Mr. Trump said. “I said that name is officially retired.”