CNN town hall with Ron DeSantis

As Donald Trump's rival Ron DeSantis participates in the CNN town hall, the former president's endorsements continue to grow.

Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz announced he's endorsing Trump, saying on Fox News' Hannity that on Tuesday that "at this point, I believe this race is over. So I am proud to endorse Donald Trump for President of the United States."

Pointing to Trump's win in Iowa, Cruz said, "It was a dominating victory for Donald Trump. I gotta say there's no place like the Iowa caucuses. I know it intimately, the men and women of Iowa where they take their responsibility incredibly seriously. They scrutinize the candidates. It's an amazing process and I'm a big believer in letting democracy play out. Well, last night it played out and I gotta say, Trump's victory was across the board."

Cruz beat Trump in the 2016 Iowa caucuses, and later endorsed the former president after his presidential campaign failed.

"I don't see any path to victory for anyone other than Donald Trump. New Hampshire may be closely contested. We'll see what happens. I think after New Hampshire, it will go to South Carolina. I believe in South Carolina, you're gonna see Trump win a dominating victory in South Carolina. And after that, you've got Super Tuesday. I don't see a path for any candidate after that," Cruz said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sought to distinguish himself from former President Donald Trump by reflecting on their records handling the Covid-19 pandemic, an issue at the heart of DeSantis’ rise to national prominence.

DeSantis responded to a question from a voter at CNN’s town hall in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Tuesday about the differences between him and Trump by acknowledging he’s agreed with Trump on some issues and supported Trump in previous elections, but specifically highlighted Trump’s handling of the pandemic and his reliance on guidance from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

DeSantis compared Trump’s record and his reliance on Fauci – a strongly derided figure among conservative politicians and media personalities – to his own handling of the pandemic, which deemphasized the need for mask mandates, school closures and vaccine mandates. He also blamed Trump for not removing Fauci from his high-profile role in the Trump administration pandemic response team. 

DeSantis has made his record in handling the Covid pandemic his chief differentiator with Trump in recent weeks, rooting his campaign message in the period when DeSantis first garnered national attention for Florida’s Covid response, which was less strict in implementing public health guidelines than other states around the country at the time.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he’s capable of getting the nation’s $34 trillion in debt under control because he’s passed balanced budgets during his time in office. That means the state hasn’t spent more than it has collected in tax revenue.

As governor of Florida, he added, “It’s not even a question you're going to balance the budget. So you have to make choices, you're forced to make choices.”

That requirement hardly makes DeSantis unique. Governors of every single state except Vermont have some form of a balanced budget requirement according to the Urban Institute. But as president, DeSantis said he'd be in favor of passing a federal balanced budget requirement.

The last time the United States balanced the federal budget was under former President Bill Clinton in 2001. In the past fiscal year, the government ran a $1.7 trillion budget deficit.

Voters have a choice to make about the 2024 election, and focusing on former President Donald Trump's legal troubles will be a distraction for the Republican party, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

“What do we want the 2024 election to be about?” he said at a CNN town hall in New Hampshire.

Instead, he thinks the election should be focused on things like the economy, crime, the border and “to be a referendum on the country going in the wrong direction.”

He said he does not think Republicans will succeed in the election if Trump’s issues are top-of-mind for voters.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defended the move to send migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard in 2022, saying: "I don't think it was cheap at all."

The GOP candidate was asked by Geoff Woollacott, an undeclared voter leaning toward Nikki Haley, about how tactics like that bring the nation together.

The arrangements to send migrants to Martha's Vineyard were part of a series of moves by Republican governors to transport migrants to liberal enclaves to protest what they say are inadequate federal efforts to secure the southern border.

DeSantis said he thinks sanctuary cities “should be the ones to have to shoulder the burden."

He went a step further saying if he is elected president, he wouldn't allow any sanctuary cities.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that Nikki Haley's comments about him not being a concern for her in the primary race doesn't faze him because of the momentum he gained coming out of Iowa — and because GOP voters don't think she shares their values.

Asked by CNN's Wolf Blitzer about Haley's comments from earlier in the day, where she said DeSantis was "not my concern. I am going after Trump," the Florida governor responded, "So, she said — and her campaign — said that, there's only two tickets out of Iowa, that the top two out of Iowa would be viable and that she would finish at least second and that would be the race."

DeSantis followed up by noting he nabbed the second place slot in Iowa, despite, as he claimed, Haley spending "100% of her money attacking me and not one red cent attacking Donald Trump."

He then went on to say that Haley does not share the values that Republican voters want in a candidate. The Florida governor pointed to comments he heard from Trump voters who told him they liked his record.

"None of them like Nikki Haley because they don't think she shares her values. So she does not have the ability to build the type of coalition that you need to win a Republican primary, period. Much less take on Donald Trump," DeSantis said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the fact that roughly half of Iowa's Republican caucusgoers voted for someone besides former President Donald Trump shows there is "an appetite for a different leader” and that he represents that person.

Finishing second with about 21% of the vote behind Trump's more than 50%, DeSantis argued that he is the candidate who has delivered on key conservative agenda points, and slammed Trump for falling short on previous campaign promises.

DeSantis said now that fewer candidates are in the race for the GOP nomination, “we are now in a position where people are going to be able to make even better choices."

The Florida governor narrowly beat out former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. Heading into the next primary contest, DeSantis is facing major headwinds in New Hampshire, where Trump and Haley have led him in recent polling.

The CNN town hall with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is underway, a day after his second-place finish in the Iowa Republican caucuses.

Tonight, he is making his case to voters at a town hall in New Hampshire.

DeSantis is facing major headwinds in the Granite State, where former President Donald Trump, who lapped the field in Iowa, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley have led him in recent polling.

That is due, at least in part, to New Hampshire’s more politically diverse primary electorate, which includes independents who can vote in intraparty contests.

The New Hampshire GOP primary takes place on January 23.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is getting right back to work Tuesday, a day after his second-place finish in the Iowa Republican caucuses, making his case to voters at a CNN town hall in New Hampshire tonight at 9 p.m. ET after a brief stopover in South Carolina.

Here are four things to watch for in his CNN town hall:

Read more about things to watch for in DeSantis' CNN town hall.