OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state’s most famous resident, former President Donald Trump, have reportedly mended fences following their bitter break-up during the former’s campaign for the GOP nomination that ended earlier this spring.
According to the Washington Post, the pair met privately in Miami, “breaking a years-long chill between the presumptive Republican nominee and his onetime chief primary rival.”
The Post reported that allies facilitated the meeting to foster a potential détente between the two. According to individuals familiar with the matter, Trump’s advisers are optimistic that DeSantis will leverage his donor network to assist in raising substantial funds for the general election. These sources, like others interviewed for the story, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private discussions.
“The pair met for several hours and DeSantis agreed to help Trump. The meeting was friendly, according to a person with direct knowledge,” the Post said.
DeSantis built a broad network of affluent supporters during his campaign, whose aid could prove invaluable in helping Trump narrow the money gap with President Joe Biden and Democrats. Additionally, the Florida governor enjoys popularity among certain Republican voters who may be weary of Trump.
There’s also an incentive for DeSantis to forge a closer bond. Sources close to DeSantis have indicated that maintaining a strained relationship with Trump, especially as he looks toward his political future, is not sustainable, the Post report noted further.
It added:
The meeting was orchestrated by Steve Witkoff, a Florida real estate investor and developer both men know, and he attended. Witkoff called the former president’s team and asked for him to meet with DeSantis, a person familiar with the matter said.
Trump and DeSantis had not spoken since the end of a bruising primary season, where DeSantis dropped out after a disappointing finish in Iowa, following months of attacks from Trump and his supporters. DeSantis offered a video endorsing Trump on the day he left the race.
“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” DeSantis said in the video he posted that Sunday afternoon on the social media site X. “They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance, and they see Democrats using lawfare to this day to attack him.”
Meanwhile, DeSantis is pushing back on the Biden administration’s rule change involving transgender primary school students, vowing that he won’t comply with any part of it.
The Biden administration last week introduced new regulations for transgender students under the umbrella of Title IX. These regulations aim to prohibit schools from mandating that students use bathrooms corresponding to their assigned gender at birth.
The new rule makes it “crystal clear that everyone can access schools that are safe, welcoming and that respect their rights,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said, without explaining how the rule change makes it “safe” and “welcoming” to the vast majority of students who are gender-confused.
“No one should face bullying or discrimination just because of who they are, who they love,” Cardona told reporters on April 19. “Sadly, this happens all too often.”
But DeSantis made it clear in response to the announcement that no one entity, including the federal government, has a right to discriminate against kids who are not ‘struggling’ with their gender identity.
“We are not gonna let Joe Biden try to inject men into women’s activities,” DeSantis said Thursday on X. “We are not gonna let Joe Biden undermine the rights of parents. And we are not gonna let Joe Biden abuse his constitutional authority to try to impose these policies on us here in Florida.”
He added: “We will not comply.”