Rick Perry has become the first Republican presidential candidate to bow out of the race for the White House.
The former Texas governor announced his decision during a speech in St. Louis on Friday night, Sept. 11, saying, "I am suspending my campaign for the presidency of the United States."
Perry, who also ran for president in 2012, previously attacked current GOP frontrunner Donald Trump during a speech in July, and made a veiled dig at the businessman again on Friday night, saying the Republican party's "nominee must make the case for the cause of conservatism more than the cause of their own celebrity."
The Washington Post reported last month that Perry's campaign was no longer paying its staff because fundraising had dried up.
Perry said in his speech on Friday that he believes that the remaining Republican candidates are "the best in a generation," so he was stepping aside "knowing our party is in good hands.”
The remaining 16 Republican presidential candidates include Trump, Carly Fiorina, Ted Cruz, Scott Walker, Mike Huckabee, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, Ben Carson, and George Pataki.
