Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry suspended his 2016 presidential campaign on Friday, and took a few shots at frontrunner Donald Trump on the way out.
“[W]e cannot indulge nativist appeals that divide the nation further,” he said in his speech at the Eagle Forum in St. Louis, Missouri, where he announced the suspension of his campaign. “The answer to our current divider-in-chief is not to elect a Republican divider-in-chief.”
“He – or she – must make the case for the cause of conservatism more than the cause of their own celebrity,” he added.
While Perry and Trump have had their differences, Trump saluted Perry over Twitter moments after the announcement:
.@GovernorPerry is a terrific guy and I wish him well- I know he will have a great future!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 11, 2015
Perry had struggled to gain traction since the launch of his campaign, and this week was 14th of 17 GOP candidates on the Washington Examiner’s power rankings. In recent weeks, money dried up and Perry kept few paid staffers on his campaign in the early primary states, while multiple staffers moved to a super PAC supporting his candidacy.
Perry avoided those details, and cited his faith as a determinative factor in his decision to drop out.
“When I gave my life to Christ, I said, ‘your ways are greater than my ways. Your will superior to mine,'” he said. “Today I submit that His will remains a mystery, but some things have become clear.”
“That is why today I am suspending my campaign for the presidency of the United States,” he said. “We have a tremendous field – the best in a generation – so I step aside knowing our party is in good hands, and as long as we listen to the grassroots, the cause of conservatism will be too.”
