That Winston Churchill Quote Ron DeSantis Used To Announce He's Quitting Was Fake: Report

The 2024 presidential campaign of Ron DeSantis came to an abrupt end, with DeSantis throwing his weight behind his former adversary, Donald Trump. The Florida Governor’s exit was marked by a contentious misquote in his farewell message.

What Happened: It was revealed that DeSantis’ announcement video to suspend his campaign featured a quote inaccurately credited to Winston Churchill. DeSantis tweeted, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts,” attributing it to Churchill, reported Business Insider on Sunday.

The International Churchill Society, however, had already clarified in 2013 that Churchill never made the statement. Their confirmation reportedly came after a comprehensive research that involved studying fifty million words by and about Churchill.

DeSantis, who was at one point viewed as a formidable challenger to Trump, saw his campaign strength wane over time. Despite his high expectations from the Iowa caucuses, he was defeated by Trump with a sizable 30 percentage point margin.

Upon conceding defeat, DeSantis acknowledged, “It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance.” A representative for DeSantis did not offer an immediate response regarding the misquoted statement.

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Why It Matters: DeSantis’ withdrawal from the presidential race could potentially bolster Trump’s chances, as suggested by a recent poll. The CNN/University of New Hampshire (UNH) poll revealed that 62% of DeSantis’ supporters in New Hampshire would likely support Trump as their second choice.

Furthermore, DeSantis’ decision to suspend his campaign ahead of the GOP primary election in New Hampshire could impact the race, an important battleground for contenders like former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, who is currently lagging behind Trump by 11 percentage points.

DeSantis doesn’t seem to be the only Churchill fan, it should be remembered that Trump had a bust of Churchill placed in the Oval Office when he settled into the presidency, according to The Guardian.

The same bust was also present during the presidency of George W. Bush but was returned to the British embassy when Barack Obama became president.

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