Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis met privately in Miami, Florida on Sunday, a Republican with knowledge of the meeting confirmed to Fox News.
During the several-hour long meeting, DeSantis agreed to help Trump as the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee tries to close his fundraising gap with President Biden in their 2024 election rematch, the source confirmed.
DeSantis, who was convincingly re-elected in 2022 before launching an unsuccessful bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has built up a formidable network of wealthy donors who could be helpful to Trump as the general election campaign heats up.
News of the meeting was first reported by the Washington Post, which said the get-together between the two rivals was orchestrated by Steve Witkoff, a Florida real estate broker known to both Trump and DeSantis.
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Ron DeSantis dropped out of the 2024 GOP race and endorsed former President Trump on Sunday. (AP Photo, File)
The meeting appears to be the first time DeSantis and Trump have spoken, let alone met in person, since the governor ended his White House bid in January, after a disappointing second place finish in the Iowa caucuses, far behind Trump.
The former president and his allies spent nearly a year attacking DeSantis as the two squared off for the GOP nomination that also included other contenders.
DeSantis and Trump did not immediately respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital on the matter.
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Then-President Donald Trump greets Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis as his wife, Casey DeSantis, looks on as they are introduced during a campaign rally at the Hertz Arena on October 31, 2018 in Estero, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
DeSantis suspended his presidential campaign just two days ahead of the New Hampshire primary and has since endorsed Trump. But to date, DeSantis hasn’t campaigned on behalf of Trump.
During a February call with supporters, the governor took aim at Trump and his top political advisers.
“I think he’s got people in his inner circle who were part of our orbit years ago that we fired, and I think some of that is they just have an ax to grind,” DeSantis said at the time.
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Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he departs after speaking during the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, in Oxon Hill, Md., Feb. 24, 2024. A Cook County judge ordered the Illinois State Board of Elections to take former President Donald Trump’s name off of the state’s March 19 primary ballot Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, but placed her order on hold until Friday to allow an appeal. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Responding, top Trump campaign aide Chris LaCivita called DeSantis a “sad little man.”
While many on Trump’s team and in his wider political orbit detest DeSantis, the former president may be more forgiving, if it benefits him.
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Trump said in January after DeSantis endorsed him that he would “officially retire” the derogatory “Ron DeSanctimonious” nickname he used repeatedly to attack the Florida governor for nearly a year.
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