Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis met privately in Miami on Sunday, according to a new report.
The pair spoke for several hours in what was described as a friendly meeting, according to The Washington Post, which cited sources it did not name.
The report said both men had a reason to meet. For Trump, whose legal battles are draining time and resources, access to the DeSantis donor network would be a plus, as would having DeSantis energize Republicans.
“There is an incentive for DeSantis to form a closer relationship, as well,” the Post wrote. “People close to DeSantis have said it is untenable for him to continue to have a strained relationship with Trump, particularly as he eyes his political future. He is widely viewed among Republican donors and consultants as weakened after a shellacking by Trump in the primary.”
Steve Witkoff, a Florida real estate broker, helped connect the men in a meeting that resulted in DeSantis agreeing to work with Trump to defeat President Joe Biden.
DeSantis has been on some lists of potential Trump running mates, a fluid list of names that has evolved with input from Trump’s hints and unabashed media speculation.
A report from Axios had previously indicated that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has been gaining traction as a potential bridge to moderates.
The report indicated that Burgum could help Trump connect with undecided voters, suggesting it was a sign of Trump’s favor that Burgum and his wife attended an Easter brunch at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
Another potential running mate, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, has been battling political brush fires ever since word came out that her upcoming memoir will relate that she shot her dog and also killed a goat, according to the BBC.
The memoir will say the dog was “untrainable” and “dangerous” and that Noem took the dog to a gravel pit and shot her.
“It was not a pleasant job,” she wrote. “But it had to be done.”
Commentator Meghan McCain said the incident might be fatal to Noem’s political future.
“You can recover from a lot of things in politics, change the narrative etc – but not from killing a dog,” she said, according to the outlet.
Noem has said life on a farm sometimes requires difficult actions.
“We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm. Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years,” she posted on X.
Trump can put his moderate/mainstream diversity hire on the ticket until after the election, and then replace them 1 day after inauguration. The VP serves at the pleasure of the president. I was hoping for someone like Steven Miller a tried and true fighter for VP.
DeSantis would be wonderful as VP or President, but he’s as strong-willed as Trump, that’s what scares me. The last thing we need is President and VP not getting along.
Just hopefully NOT talking about DeSantis being his VP. RDS is weak…couldn’t even make it through one primary without quitting. He’d be 2nd in line for the Presidency…NO! He needs to stay in his comfort zone as governor of Florida, where he feels strong.