DeSantis and Trump appear to be making up following reported meeting in Miami

Gov. Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump appear to be on better terms following a Washington Post report that the two met Sunday morning in Miami — not at the Trump compound at Mar-a-Lago, which is to say that the meeting was held on neutral ground. Allies brokered the meeting, the newspaper reported.

DeSantis held a press conference Monday morning in Jupiter in Palm Beach County on Monday to promote state aid for autistic Floridians but left without taking questions from reporters and didn’t bring up the Trump-DeSantis meeting.

“Actually, I’m late for my next event down in Delray (Beach in Palm Beach County), so I’m going to slip out,” DeSantis said before leaving. His office hasn’t published notice of that event and hasn’t yet responded to a question about it.

Rick Wilson, the former Republican political consultant who co-founded the never-Trump Liberty Project, said both Trump and DeSantis benefit by mending fences broken when DeSantis announced he would run against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination.

Earlier, Trump’s endorsement helped DeSantis scoot ahead of then-Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam in the 2018 Republican gubernatorial primary. He then narrowly won the general election.

“Rhonda Santis wants to preserve his viability for 2028 and Donald Trump wants to tap into the DeSantis email list and DeSantis major donor list,” Wilson told the Phoenix by text, using an insulting nickname for the governor.

DeSantis has indeed been adept at raising money, even though some major donors stopped contributing to his presidential campaign. For example, his federal Never Back Down super PAC raised $145.5 million and still has around $7 million left over, according to Federal Election Commission records as of March 31. His Ron DeSantis for President committee raised more than $39 million.

A different DeSantis-aligned committee, Fight Right Inc., formed amid supporters’ unhappiness with the Never Back Down’s strategy, raised nearby $14.7 million since Nov. 16 last year and had $411,250 in cash on hand at the end of March this year. Yet another, Good Fight, raised $3.35 million beginning last December and spent it all, according to FEC records.

‘Prostrating himself at the feet of Trump’

Mac Stipanovich, another former GOP consultant turned critic of both Trump and DeSantis, was dismissive.

“Prior to yesterday, it was obvious to all that DeSantis’ principles are really just passing preferences in the service of his unbounded ambition, but it seemed possible that he retained some modicum of self-respect. No more,” Stipanovich said by text.

“Prostrating himself at the feet of Trump in Miami is a fitting end to a stunning humiliation on the national stage,” Stipanovich added.

DeSantis suspended his presidential campaign in January following a disappointing performance in the Iowa Caucus. Although Trump insulted him throughout his campaign, DeSantis endorsed the former president, citing the will of the voters.

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