DeSantis to raise funds for Trump

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is planning to raise funds for former President Trump’s 2024 campaign in the coming weeks.

The details have yet to be finalized, The Associated Press reported, citing two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity. They told the AP that DeSantis has been making calls to donors, and the finance team is working on a fundraising swing that would include stops in Florida and Texas.

The fundraising efforts follow months of political rivalry, as DeSantis and Trump went head-to-head in the 2024 Republican presidential primary.

Despite being considered Trump’s most formidable opponent, the Florida governor was unable to gain traction in the polls. Analysts said it was because he failed to give voters a reason to choose him over the former president.

Meanwhile, the former president criticized DeSantis at every turn, nicknaming him “DeSanctimonious” and calling him a “lousy candidate.”

DeSantis ultimately suspended his presidential bid in January, after failing to gain support in the Iowa caucuses. He said it was “clear” that GOP voters wanted a second Trump term and said he would back the former president because he pledged to support the Republican nominee to take on President Biden.

In late April, Trump said he had a “great meeting” with DeSantis in which they discussed their shared state of Florida and how they could work closely together nationwide.

Roy Bailey, a Dallas investor who was co-chair of DeSantis’s national finance committee during his campaign, told the AP that the Florida governor has “shown his commitment to the president, and that’s why I say we’ll follow his lead, and why I think donors will follow his lead.”

“We will be focused on past DeSantis donors who have yet to donate to President Trump,” he said. “We’re going to try to mine those donors for him. That will create a lot of value.”

The AP noted that the Florida governor may be viewing the fundraising effort as an opportunity to score politically down the line, when, if Trump wins in November, he would be unable to run again in 2028.

The Hill has reached out to DeSantis’s team. A DeSantis spokesperson said in a text to the AP that “We are actively working on plans to fundraise in support of President Trump, as well as other Republicans up and down the ballot.”