President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have had their fair share of differences, especially when they were both vying for the GOP presidential nomination last year.
DeSantis can’t run again in 2026 because of term limits, and he has raised the idea of his wife, Casey, running for office. But the president has other plans, creating another point of contention between the two former rivals.
Last week, Trump said Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., would receive his “complete and total endorsement” should he decide to run. DeSantis took a jab at Donalds during his latest press conference in Tampa on Monday.
DeSantis said Donalds hasn’t been a part of his legislative victories in Florida.
“He’s just not been a part of it. He’s been in other states campaigning doing that, and that’s fine, but OK, well then deliver results up there,” he said.
DeSantis was referring to the lack of momentum on the Hill in Washington, D.C.
“Donald Trump just got into office. I want these congressmen focused on enacting his agenda,” the Florida governor said. “They haven’t done very much yet. They’re not putting his executive orders into place. We’ll see what they do on the spending, but we have such a narrow majority that to be trying to campaign other places and missing these votes, I think, is not something that’s advisable at all.”
Does Ron DeSantis want his wife, Casey, to run for Florida governor?
The Florida governor hopes to preserve his legacy, and that might be why he’s looking to his wife to run in 2026. He praised Casey DeSantis for her political chops at the press conference on Monday but wouldn’t say definitively whether she plans to run for office.
Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gets a hug from his wife Casey as he speaks to supporters during a caucus night party, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, in West Des Moines, Iowa. | Charlie Neibergall
“People ask me all the time about our wonderful first lady, who has done a fantastic job as first lady of Florida,” DeSantis said of his wife. “I will tell you this, you’re talking about somebody like her. I won by the biggest margin that any Republican has ever won a governor’s race here in Florida. She would do better than me.”
“She’s somebody that has the intestinal fortitude and the dedication to conservative principles that, you know, anything that we’ve accomplished she’d be able to take to the next level,” DeSantis said.
Did Byron Donalds confirm he is running for governor?
Trump in his post said Donalds is rumored to be considering running for governor. He said that should Donalds decide to enter the race he would have the president’s “complete and total endorsement,” adding, “RUN, BYRON, RUN!”
The post generated a lot of buzz. “It’s been an interesting 12 hours for me,” Donalds said after taking the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday. He recalled receiving a call from the president following the preemptive endorsement online while his phone flooded with notifications.
“Mr. President, thank you. And I will never let you down,” said Donalds, without confirming whether he will run, but hinting an announcement is coming soon.
The Florida representative praised the commitment of his state’s officials to preserving “individual liberty and limited government.”
“And our leaders, Gov. DeSantis and before him, Gov. (Rick) Scott. And all of the men and women who have served in our legislature, myself included … we were committed to making sure that there was a state that people could go to, to chase the American dream.”
Trump and DeSantis have a long history
Florida is Trump’s home turf, too, given that the Mar-a-Lago, a private club, in Palm Beach, has served as his primary residence since 2019. Trump also takes credit for helping DeSantis secure the position of governor by making an endorsement, like he did for Donalds.
But when the Florida governor publicly declared his aspirations for the White House, Trump gave him a nickname, “DeSanctimonious.”
After DeSantis dropped out of the 2024 race, he offered Trump an endorsement. Then last year, when Florida needed federal aid to respond to Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, DeSantis cozied up to Trump, and reportedly declined to take the then-Vice President Kamala Harris’ phone call. Later, in an appearance on Fox News, DeSantis alleged she was trying to use the disaster as a part of her “political games.”
While Trump and DeSantis haven’t exchanged any heated words as of late, it’s possible DeSantis and Trump will continue to spar, especially if DeSantis continues to position his wife as his successor. Politico reported he is already approaching donors with this idea.
What do the polls say about Florida governor race?
According to the latest poll of Florida voters by the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab, Casey DeSantis enjoyed a 30% favorability rating, and 57% among Republican respondents.
Among GOP voters, about 60% said they did not know of Donalds, while 27% found him favorable and only 2% found him unfavorable. For former Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, 23% of GOP respondents found him unfavorable and 33% said they believed the opposite.
Gaetz resigned from Congress amid allegations that he regularly paid for sex, used illegal drugs and had sexual relations with a minor. He denies these allegations.
“Byron is a great friend,” Gaetz told CNN, but noted that he enjoyed higher approval ratings than Trump’s pick. “I congratulate him for getting President Trump’s initial endorsement in the race. I’d also like to thank the 33% of Floridians who responded to a UNF poll with a favorable view of me. I think Byron was at 27%.”
