Trump Pulls DeSantis Back Into the Republican Spotlight

For a time, the relationship between President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis looked beyond repair. Trump mocked him publicly as “Ron DeSanctimonious,” blasted him as disloyal for challenging him in the 2024 Republican primary, and politically crushed his presidential campaign in a landslide victory.

But now, in one of the most surprising political reversals in recent Republican history, Trump appears to have personally welcomed DeSantis back into the MAGA fold.

The repaired relationship is not just symbolic. Trump and DeSantis reportedly speak regularly, golf together, and cooperate on policy efforts. Trump allies are even pushing DeSantis as a possible attorney general pick, while others speculate he could eventually land another major role inside the administration or position himself for a future White House run.

The shift reportedly began shortly after DeSantis suspended his presidential campaign. According to reports, DeSantis and his advisers had gathered in a South Florida hotel conference room to make fundraising calls on Trump’s behalf after the governor’s defeat. Then Trump himself unexpectedly called.

“Ron, you should have hit me harder,” Trump reportedly told DeSantis, criticizing the governor’s cautious campaign strategy. Advisers reportedly sat stunned as Trump praised DeSantis’s golf game and spoke casually, acting as though the brutal primary fight had already been erased.

That moment appears to have marked the beginning of Trump’s decision to bring DeSantis back into good standing.

Trump has reportedly made clear in private conversations that he personally likes DeSantis, even if some members of his inner circle still distrust him. According to reports, Trump recently acknowledged that DeSantis is not well-liked by some advisers but emphasized that the Florida governor has delivered politically for him and for Republicans in Florida.

That matters because Trump values loyalty and results above almost everything else in politics.

DeSantis has helped advance several Republican priorities during Trump’s second term. He backed controversial redistricting maps that could potentially give Republicans four additional House seats. He also supported the transfer of prime land in downtown Miami for Trump’s planned presidential library. Meanwhile, DeSantis has aggressively pushed conservative policies on immigration, education, and artificial intelligence regulation, often aligning himself with broader MAGA priorities.

The warming relationship is especially notable considering how bitter the feud once became.

Trump had been instrumental in DeSantis’s rise. In 2018, DeSantis was a relatively unknown congressman until Trump endorsed him for governor of Florida. That endorsement transformed him into a national political figure almost overnight. After DeSantis became enormously popular among conservatives during the COVID-19 pandemic and won reelection by a landslide, however, he began preparing for a presidential campaign.

Trump reportedly saw that move as a betrayal.

The two men then spent much of 2023 and early 2024 attacking one another. Trump repeatedly mocked DeSantis’s personality and campaign style, while DeSantis struggled to find an effective way to challenge Trump without alienating MAGA voters. Looking back, DeSantis himself admitted that attacking Trump politically “kind of fell flat.”

“He was running against a three-time-indicted Donald Trump and the people rallied to have Trump’s back,” Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats said. “There wasn’t a lot he could do.”

Even now, not everyone around Trump wants DeSantis back in the inner circle. Some longtime Trump allies still view him as overly ambitious and disloyal. Veteran Republican operative Roger Stone recently warned against giving DeSantis another opening in Trump’s orbit, reportedly saying, “You’ve got to make sure that door is nailed shut.”

Trump, however, appears less interested in holding grudges than some of his advisers.

The president and governor have reportedly golfed together several times over the past year, including at Trump’s Doral golf club near Miami. DeSantis also co-chairs a White House panel focused on reforming college sports payments, giving him another direct connection to Trump’s administration.

The improved relationship has fueled growing speculation that Trump could eventually reward DeSantis with a major position.

Several allies close to both men, including Sean Hannity and former Marvel chairman Ike Perlmutter, have reportedly encouraged Trump to nominate DeSantis for attorney general. The speculation intensified after former Attorney General Pam Bondi was removed and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche took over temporarily.

DeSantis has publicly avoided aggressively pursuing the job. “I haven’t asked for a job,” he said, adding, “I want to help the country, and I want the president to do well.”

Still, many Republicans believe DeSantis would fit naturally into the role. He holds a law degree from Harvard Law School, served as a Navy JAG officer, worked alongside federal prosecutors in Florida, and later deployed to Iraq as a senior legal adviser to Navy SEAL operations. His supporters argue those credentials make him well suited for senior legal or national security positions.

Others believe Trump may eventually view DeSantis as useful for preserving parts of the MAGA coalition after Trump leaves office. DeSantis himself hinted at that possibility, arguing that the Republican Party may eventually need another strong conservative figure capable of keeping Trump’s coalition together.

At only 47 years old, DeSantis has also made clear he is not ruling out another presidential campaign someday.

“I’m in my mid-40s, so I couldn’t say I would never do it,” he said.

For now, though, the biggest political story may simply be that Trump appears to have decided DeSantis is no longer an enemy.

In modern politics, few rivalries have turned around this dramatically. Trump once humiliated DeSantis on the national stage and effectively ended his first presidential campaign. Now, Trump seems willing to give him another path forward.

As DeSantis himself acknowledged, “Politics is fickle. Things change.”