NEWSWEEK
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis received rare praise from former President Donald Trump a day after the pair had a “great meeting” in the Sunshine State.
A private meeting on Sunday between Trump, the 2024 presumptive Republican nominee for president, and his ex-rival DeSantis has fueled speculation that the former president may tap the Florida governor to be his running mate in November’s election. However, a source told the Associated Press that the meeting was not to discuss the vice presidency and was more of a peace talk after a brutal primary. The discussion reportedly focused on discussing joint fundraising efforts to help Trump defeat his all-but-assured Democratic opponent, President Joe Biden.
Trump and DeSantis met for roughly three hours at real estate investor Steve Witkoff’s Shell Bay Club in Hollywood, Florida. The meeting was the first time the pair had communicated since DeSantis dropped out of the Republican primaries earlier this year, The Washington Post reported. The meeting ended with the two Republicans shaking hands.
On Monday, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform about the get-together and touted the governor’s “enthusiastic” endorsement for president despite previous acrimony stemming from DeSantis’ decision to challenge him for the GOP nomination.
“I am very happy to have the full and enthusiastic support of Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “We had a great meeting yesterday, arranged by mutual friend Steve Witkoff, at his beautiful Shell Bay Club in Hollywood, Florida. The conversation mostly concerned how we would work closely together to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. Also discussed was the future of Florida, which is FANTASTIC! I greatly appreciate Ron’s support in taking back our Country from the Worst President in the History of the United States. November 5th is a BIG DAY!!!”
Newsweek reached out via email on Monday night to representatives of Trump and DeSantis for comment.
Before DeSantis dropped out of the presidential race, Trump spent months mocking and belittling the governor online and on the campaign trail, often referring to him as “Meatball Ron” and “Ron DeSanctimonious.” Trump accused DeSantis of disloyalty since he had previously endorsed him for governor.
Just before losing to Trump in the Iowa caucuses in January, DeSantis blasted the former president during an interview with NBC News Correspondent Dasha Burns.
“With Donald Trump, if you don’t kiss the ring, you can be the best governor ever and he’ll trash you,” DeSantis said. “You can be a terrible corrupt politician. But if you kiss his ring, then all of a sudden he’ll praise you.”
The governor exited the race in January after the loss in Iowa and consistently trailing Trump in the polls. While DeSantis previously endorsed Trump in a post on social media as soon as he dropped out, critics at the time said his backing was not authentic enough.
