Following an insult-filled and ego-bruising Republican primary fight, former president Trump and Florida governor Ron DeSantis met secretly over the weekend, signaling a truce between the erstwhile adversaries. The three-hour gathering was planned to help the two put the past behind them and explore the possibility of collaborative fundraising initiatives. Trump will square off against President Joe Biden in the general election, and the governor has pledged his support.
Despite running against Trump for the Republican nomination in 2024, DeSantis backed the former president and withdrew his support on January 21 after a dismal performance in Iowa. Having warned that Trump has “too much baggage” to run for president and that Republicans would never support him, the top executive of Florida has cast doubt about Trump’s viability.
Trump had previously insulted DeSantis, calling him “DeSanctimonius” throughout the campaign, and Trump’s backers were outraged by the governor’s remarks about the odds-on primary winner.
Several DeSantis backers lauded the governor’s action, calling it “smart,” while the Trump campaign verified the meeting and characterized it as “good.” This is fantastic news for Trump, according to Roy Bailey, the campaign finance chair for Ron DeSantis. He thinks they should want to emulate Gov. DeSantis’s successful volunteer fundraising team to aid Trump. Joining forces and moving in unison is crucial.
The governor of Florida was formerly the front-runner to unseat Trump upon his reelection in 2022; he is generally seen as the party’s future leader.
After DeSantis won the Republican nomination for governor of Florida in 2018 with the previous president’s support, Trump branded him a “traitor” for planning to seek the presidency in 2024.
Trump said that most Republican primary voters would want to give him another shot and that he is better than Joe Biden, the incumbent. The Republican National Committee demanded that all contenders sign a commitment pledging their support for the Republican nominee, and he did so. Not only did Trump skip out on the debates, but he also never signed the promise.
Strangely, a moderately sized coalition of DeSantis backers vows to torpedo Trump’s chances in 2024, which would only help Joe Biden—whom DeSantis would ostensibly be running to defeat.
