After an often contentious primary battle, former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appear ready to bury the hatchet.
The two Republicans reportedly met privately in Miami on Sunday in a meeting arranged by Steve Witkoff, a Florida real estate broker, according to The Washington Post which cited “people familiar with the matter.”
“The pair met for several hours and DeSantis agreed to help Trump. The meeting was friendly, according to a person with direct knowledge,” the outlet reported, adding that DeSantis “has built a wide network of wealthy patrons whose assistance would be valuable in helping Trump.”
The pair traded plenty of criticism during the primary season before DeSantis ultimately dropped out of the race following a disheartening finish in Iowa. But the Florida leader quickly came out supporting Trump.
“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” DeSantis said in a video message when he left the race in January. “They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance, and they see Democrats using lawfare to this day to attack him.”
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
– Winston Churchill pic.twitter.com/ECoR8YeiMm
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) January 21, 2024
The primary season and the aftermath left both Trump and DeSantis licking wounds and harboring some resentment, according to The Post.
“DeSantis was stung by how Trump and his team treated him during the primary, people close to the Florida governor said,” the newspaper noted, adding that the Florida governor said “Trump had political baggage and criticized some in Trump’s orbit” in a February call with supporters.
“I think he’s got people in his inner circle who were part of our orbit years ago that we fired, and I think some of that is they just have an ax to grind,” he reportedly said in comments that angered Trump’s team.
DeSantis was endorsed by Trump in 2018 when he ran for governor but the politics of the 2024 GOP primary race heated up things between the Florida rivals. However, as DeSantis dropped out, it seemed Trump was in a forgiving state of mind.
“Will I be using the name Ron DeSanctimonious?” he said after the endorsement from DeSantis. “I said that name is officially retired.”
Former President Donald Trump at his campaign office in Manchester on the nickname “DeSantimonious,” after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out and endorsed him this afternoon:
“Will I be using the name Ron DeSanctimonious? … That name is officially retired.”
w/@libbycathey pic.twitter.com/aznyIZuOEU
— Soorin Kim (@SooRinKimm) January 21, 2024