Posted on 02/25/2023 2:48:03 PM PST by Drew68
The group of Ron DeSantis’ top donors and supporters gathering in Palm Beach, Fla., this weekend includes some longtime backers of former President Donald Trump.
The Florida governor’s three-day retreat at the Four Seasons hotel — just four miles down the road from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate — kicked off Friday evening with a cocktail reception and dinner for the approximately 150 attendees. The event, billed as a celebration of the “Florida blueprint,” precedes a likely DeSantis presidential bid that would pit him against Trump. And the roster of people there shows that the governor is appealing to major GOP figures who’ve previously aligned themselves with the former president.
People spotted at the opening night of the conference included Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, who on Friday evening participated in a panel discussion DeSantis moderated on the “medical establishment.” Johnson has long been a staunch Trump ally: On Jan. 6, 2021, Johnson tried to arrange for a list of fake electors backing Trump to be handed to then-Vice President Mike Pence.
A Johnson spokesperson, however, said Johnson did not intend to endorse in the primary.
“Sen. Johnson historically does not endorse in primaries and plans to continue this trend and remain impartial in 2024,” said Corinne Day, a Johnson spokesperson.
Also seen was Arizona Republican Jim Lamon, a solar energy executive and Trump donor who aggressively aligned himself with the former president during his unsuccessful 2022 Senate bid. Lamon was also involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 election results showing President Joe Biden defeated Trump. Lamon was one of 11 GOP electors who signed a document claiming to be Arizona’s legitimate electors, which was mailed to the Senate and the National Archives.
Mick Mulvaney, who was Trump’s acting White House chief of staff, was also seen at the DeSantis retreat. Mulvaney left the administration following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, and he has harshly criticized the former president over his decision to wage a 2024 comeback, saying Trump is “the only Republican who could lose” the election.
Another major figure in the Republican donor world who attended DeSantis’ event is Roy Bailey, a longtime Texas fundraiser who helped lead Trump’s campaign finance committee. And the event also included several of DeSantis’ fellow governors, including Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who benefited from a Trump-hosted fundraiser during his reelection bid last year, and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, who was also backed by Trump in his 2022 reelection campaign.
“Gov. Stitt believes Ron DeSantis has done an excellent job leading as Florida’s governor, especially through COVID, supporting law enforcement, reforming education and supporting parental rights,” said Carly Atchison, a spokesperson for Stitt, who met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago last year.
The retreat comes as DeSantis is increasing his national profile. The governor is set to publish a new book on Tuesday, and this past week, he appeared before law enforcement officers in Philadelphia, New York City and Chicago. DeSantis is also benefiting from a newly launched nonprofit group that could promote his policies. Those present at the conference said DeSantis made no mention of whether he planned to run for president, though many of those in attendance said they were eager to see him do so.
On Saturday, DeSantis is to hold another panel discussion with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, whose home state hosts the GOP’s first presidential nominating contest. A person close to Reynolds, however, said the governor did not plan to endorse in the primary. Reynolds, who chairs the Republican Governors Association, has also appeared with former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott in Iowa.
Other attendees spotted in the crowd included Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, Texas Rep. Chip Roy, Utah Sen. Mike Lee and 2022 Nevada Senate candidate Adam Laxalt, a longtime DeSantis friend. Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, a Trump ally who was once seen as a potential Trump administration CIA director, is another attendee. Conservative commentators Ann Coulter and Dana Loesch were also present.
The retreat caps off a major week in the Republican donor world. On Thursday evening, Trump hosted a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago, and on Friday, several prospective presidential candidates gathered in Austin, Texas, for a donor conference organized by longtime GOP strategist Karl Rove.
Nothing surprising here.
You win this one, fo’ sure.
X..D
Drew didn’t get it.
Former President Donald Trump maintains a double-digit lead in a hypothetical 2024 Republican primary field, a recent McLaughlin & Associates survey revealed.
They ARE REPUBLICAN DONORS.
They didn’t have a choice but to back Pres Trump given his popularity with the people and the fact that he dispatched,what, 17 POLITICIANS.
Bush had about $100,000,000 for his run and he was run out of town.
Given that a substantial amount of Prea Trump’s donations were small, things like that don’t matter to you.
These donors give to who they think will pay it back.
Pres Trump paid back the people not donors.
Have you considered that voter fraud might be over the top?
Live in the D.C suburbs and have been fighting with Repubs to clean up our voter rolls. They aren’t interested. Totally frustrating!
As a Trump supporter, I would go to see DeSantis because I like him, too.
I will vote for Don over Ron if that’s the choice in 2024.
If Don doesn’t run (highly unlikely) and Ron does, I’d vote for him.
For tge DeSantis cheerleaders- politico is pushing him. Isn’t that a problem?
Politico is pushing him because they’re scared of Trump...
Geesh, Freepers......what has happened to you?? You all used to KNOW what the left was up to.
YES! And YOU bit!
I’d say that’s a big part of it. Ya.
The article isn't calling DeSantis a RINO. It's claiming that longtime Trump backers are flocking to DeSantis.
The guy putting the article out is a former local NPR guy from good old leftist WNYC.
Trump will continue to rise as the cream always rises to the top!
Not really.
LOL.
They will chew DeSantis up & spit him out. They are just using him to weaken Trump, that’s who the left & the globalistys fear not DeSantis, he’s the big business, Romney, Ryan, GOP-e boy. You need to do some reading if you are for real. DeSantis is backed 90% by big business donors who are running his pre announcement campaign.
Do you like every politician, every Hollywood star, every human? Just because some politicians don’t care for Trump doesn’t discount true conservative creds.
I’m looking elsewhere after supporting Trump twice because he has moved the party left, too left for me. If he’s the nominee, I’ll do my duty and vote for him over a democrat.
Did I say RDS is a RINO???
Pay attention.
He has some baggage that will come back to haunt him like when Ron DeSantis Cheered on Federal Jan. 6 Probe, Encouraged Pro-Trump Patriots to be Thrown Behind Bars
You're so full of s**t on these claims and you know it.
DeSantis is just a useful mechanism for the GOPe to use to try and push Trump aside. Honestly, I don’t even think they care who wins the presidency as long as it’s not Trump.
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