Former President Donald Trump and onetime 2024 GOP rival Gov. Ron DeSantis have reportedly mended fences and are now teaming up to catapult the 45th president back into the White House this fall, hopefully retiring Joe Biden for good.
The meeting in Miami, Florida, was organized by real estate broker Steve Witkoff, who is a friend of Trump and has a relationship with DeSantis. Witkoff was also present at the meeting, the New York Times reported, adding that the three men “met alone in a private room at Shell Bay,” a development and golf club that Witkoff owns.
The report suggests that Trump is seeking DeSantis’ assistance in fundraising to match President Joe Biden’s donations, while DeSantis aims to restore his image as a formidable contender for the 2028 presidential race. POLITICO reported that the meeting was a “pivotal turn” that “could help restore” the relationship between the two before the primary season.
The Sunday meeting comes after the popular Florida governor told donors and supporters at a private retreat earlier this month he is planning to fundraise for the former president, The Daily Wire noted. “I would say the majority in the room would now be willing to help Trump,” a DeSantis bundler who was at the recent meeting told NBC News.
“I will follow the governor’s lead and I will do anything that he or President Trump ask me to do to help him win this election,” said Texas businessman Roy Bailey. “I know where there are DeSantis supporters all over Texas and all over the country that will want to help President Trump.”
“He’s committed to helping Trump in any and every way,” Bailey added. “If we can unlock and motivate our donors for Trump and put more fuel in his tank, that’s what we want to do, and that’s what we need to do to make sure [President Joe] Biden is not reelected.”
The report added that DeSantis’ complete backing of the Trump campaign is a huge asset for the former president because “DeSantis’ finance committee is full of fundraisers with massive networks” that are able to donate money.
DeSantis followed through on his pledge to endorse the GOP presidential nominee — unlike former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who has not endorsed Trump — and endorsed Trump back in January, calling him “superior to the current incumbent Joe Biden. That is clear.” He added: “He has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican Guard of yesteryear…”