Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump met Sunday in Miami for a private meeting, suggesting a détente following a bruising presidential primary ahead of the 2024 general election, The Washington Post reported.
People familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity told The Washington Post about the meeting, which was later confirmed by NBC News correspondent Dasha Burns.
“NEW: Multiple sources confirm to @NBCNews Trump and DeSantis met in Miami this morning. A Trump official tells me DeSantis reached out two weeks ago to set up the meeting via a mutual connection to ‘bury the hatchet’ and talk fundraising,” Burns tweeted late Sunday morning.
NEW: Multiple sources confirm to @NBCNews Trump and DeSantis met in Miami this morning. A Trump official tells me DeSantis reached out two weeks ago to set up the meeting via a mutual connection to “bury the hatchet” and talk fundraising.
(First scooped by WaPo)
— Dasha Burns (@DashaBurns) April 28, 2024
The meeting was set up in hopes the two would repair their strained relationship, but Trump advisors were hoping DeSantis would help fundraise through his donor network, according to The Washington Post. The meeting was reportedly “mutually agreed upon and arranged by Steve Witkoff,” a Florida real estate developer and financier known to both men. After the gathering, which lasted for several hours, DeSantis agreed to help the former president, Burns reported. (RELATED: RFK Jr. Is Poised To Tilt The Presidential Race — But It’s Still Not Clear To Whom)
During DeSantis’s campaign for the GOP presidential nomination, the Florida governor brought in just over $20 million during his first fundraising quarter, and $15 million during his third fundraising quarter. Additionally, the super political action committee supporting DeSantis’s ticket, Never Back Down, raised an estimated $130 million during the second fundraising quarter.
President Joe Biden’s campaign and affiliated groups recorded a $90 million fundraising haul for March, outpacing Trump and the Republican National Committee’s $65.6 million raised, according to the outlet. With funds from Biden’s campaign, the Democratic National Committee and affiliated joint fundraising committees have a combined $192 million cash on hand, more than double Trump’s $93.1 million.
The Daily Caller reached out to the Trump campaign and the office of Governor DeSantis for comment.