Donald J. Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida met on Sunday morning, in line with three folks briefed on the assembly, the primary time they’ve accomplished so for the reason that finish of a bruising Republican presidential main that Mr. Trump gained whereas relentlessly attacking Mr. DeSantis.
The assembly — which happened in Hollywood, Fla., in line with one of many folks briefed on the assembly — was the results of a weekslong effort by a longtime buddy of Mr. Trump, the real-estate investor Steve Witkoff, who additionally has a relationship with Mr. DeSantis.
Mr. Trump is trying to bolster his fund-raising, a capability Mr. DeSantis demonstrated throughout the main by tapping right into a community of well-funded donors. And Mr. DeSantis — who has made clear he’s involved in operating for president once more in 2028 — is looking for to shed the damaging weight of his disappointing marketing campaign. The assembly was reported earlier by The Washington Publish.
A spokesman for Mr. Trump didn’t reply to an e-mail looking for remark. A spokesman for Mr. DeSantis declined to remark.
Mr. DeSantis will not be seen as a contender to hitch a Republican ticket with Mr. Trump, who’s each the presumptive Republican nominee and on trial in Manhattan on expenses he falsified enterprise information to hide hush-money funds to a porn star within the 2016 election. Each Mr. Trump and Mr. DeSantis have made clear that such a pairing doesn’t curiosity both of them, they usually additionally stay in the identical state, which might make it an unconstitutional pairing until one in every of them have been to maneuver out of Florida, which is unlikely to occur, particularly since Mr. DeSantis is at present the governor.
Mr. DeSantis had been seen as Mr. Trump’s chief intraparty competitors, and he was the goal the Trump group targeted on for months. The tensions between the 2 males — and their aides — typically boiled over throughout the main race. Mr. Trump excoriated Mr. DeSantis throughout the marketing campaign, nicknaming him “Ron DeSanctimonious,” and criticizing him as being disloyal. Mr. DeSantis additionally claimed that Mr. Trump was unelectable at numerous factors throughout his main marketing campaign, which was affected by missteps and accusations of mismanagement.
Not too long ago, Mr. DeSantis held a donor occasion the identical weekend that Mr. Trump held a big fund-raiser for his marketing campaign. Throughout the fund-raiser, Mr. Trump revived the “DeSanctimonious” nickname, in line with an attendee.
Nonetheless, allies of each males say it’s politically helpful for them to come back collectively for the 2024 marketing campaign and past.