Trump is looking to DeSantis to help with his presidential campaign fundraising — and DeSantis is open to it, The Washington Post reported.
DeSantis and Trump met Sunday morning at the Shell Bay Club near Miami after not speaking to each other since the end of DeSantis’ campaign in January, CNN reported. The pair engaged in a presidential campaign rivalry that involved a lot of name-calling — especially from the former president.
The New York Times and Politico also reported on the meeting.
Before DeSantis left the race in January, Trump zeroed in on his rival, mocking his name and referring to him as “Ron DeSanctimonious” and, reportedly, “Meatball Ron,” which Trump has denied.
Trump has a history of getting his rivals in line behind him after some harsh burns. During the 2016 primary, Trump mocked the appearance of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s wife. Trump also helped spread a false story that Cruz’s father passed out Fidel Castro pamphlets with Lee Harvey Oswald, the man who killed President John F. Kennedy.
Cruz later endorsed Trump for president.
Trump also mocked another former primary rival, making jokes about former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie‘s weight. Christie also came around to endorsing Trump after bowing out.
Christie, who ran again in the 2024 presidential campaign, changed his tune this cycle and refused to endorse Trump after dropping out once again in January.
And when vocal Trump critic and former US Attorney General Bill Barr endorsed Trump for the 2024 ticket, he responded by mocking Barr while thanking him for the support.
According to the Post, although DeSantis endorsed Trump after dropping out of the GOP primary, the pair had not spoken since. DeSantis “was stung” by how the former president treated him during the campaign, the Post wrote, citing people familiar with the matter.
However, the Post reported that unnamed individuals close to the Florida governor felt he needed to make amends with the former president as DeSantis looked toward a potential 2028 bid.
One unnamed source told the Post that the deliberations between Trump and DeSantis on Sunday were friendly. DeSantis agreed to help the president with fundraising for his presidential campaign against Democratic rival President Joe Biden, the Post reported.
Another anonymous source told the Post that Florida real estate developer Steve Witkoff, who testified as an expert for Trump’s defense during his Manhattan fraud trial last year, orchestrated the meeting between the distant pair.
Neither camp confirmed the meeting on social media.
Representatives for Trump, DeSantis, and Witkoff did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
