Donald J. Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis met on Sunday morning, according to three people briefed on the meeting, which ended in a painful Republican presidential primary that Trump won after relentless attacks. This was the first meeting since the end of the election. Mr. DeSantis.
The meeting, which took place in Hollywood, Florida, was the result of weeks of efforts by Steve Witkoff, a real estate investor and longtime friend of Mr. Trump’s, according to one of the people briefed on the meeting. Relationship with Mr. DeSantis. The three met alone in a private room at Shelvey, Witkoff’s development and golf club, according to people briefed on the meeting.
Mr. Trump is trying to ramp up his fundraising efforts, and Mr. DeSantis demonstrated his ability to do so by tapping into his deep network of donors during the primary campaign. And DeSantis, who has expressed interest in running for president again in 2028, is trying to shake off the negative weight of a disappointing campaign. The meeting was first reported by the Washington Post.
Trump’s press secretary did not respond to an email requesting comment. A spokesperson for Mr. DeSantis declined to comment.
Mr. DeSantis is the Republican candidate on the Republican ticket with Mr. Trump, who is on trial in Manhattan on charges of falsifying business records to conceal a 2016 hush-money payment to a porn star. Not considered. election. Both Mr. Trump and Mr. DeSantis have made it clear that they are not interested in such a pairing, and since they live in the same state, the pairing would be unconstitutional unless one of them moved out of Florida. That’s unlikely, especially since DeSantis is now governor.
Mr. DeSantis is seen as Mr. Trump’s leading internal competitor and has been a target of focus for Mr. Trump’s team for months. Tensions between the two men and their aides often boiled over during the primaries. During the campaign, Trump criticized DeSantis, nicknamed him “Ron DeSanctimonious,” and accused him of being disloyal. Mr. DeSantis also argued that Mr. Trump was plagued by accusations of mismanagement and mismanagement during the primary campaign, and at various points failed to win the election.
Mr. DeSantis recently held a donor event on the same weekend that Mr. Trump held a major fundraiser for his campaign. Trump revived his nickname “DeSanctimocious” during the fundraiser, attendees said.
Still, allies of both men argue that it would be politically beneficial for them to unite in elections beyond 2024.
