Ron DeSantis soft-launches plans to fundraise for Donald Trump

According to several sources, DeSantis spoke of his Trump turnaround during a private retreat last weekend

By Kelly McClure

Nights & Weekends Editor

Published April 10, 2024 8:11PM (EDT)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a press conference in Sanford, Florida.  (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a press conference in Sanford, Florida. (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Rolling back the tape on Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' relationship with Donald Trump as it's played out over the past several months — especially when the two were engaged in a race against each other for the presidential bid, prior to DeSantis dropping out — there's been more than a few instances of Trump berating DeSantis publicly, calling him Ron DeSanctimonious and joking that he walks like he's wearing ice skates. That being said, DeSantis is planning to fundraise for him, regardless. 

During a private retreat last weekend, three anonymous sources quoted by NBC News and other outlets say that DeSantis expressed these plans to donors at a gathering on Saturday at South Florida’s Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. With one of those people emphasizing that he had pledged to support Republicans up and down the ballot — “including presidential” — when he dropped out in January. 

And while several attendees at the gathering were said to have given their thumbs up to this — with one commenting, “I would say the majority in the room would now be willing to help Trump” — it's unclear if Trump would even be receptive to his help. 

 


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