A meeting between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis has fueled speculation online that the former president may choose the Florida governor as his running mate in November’s election.
The Washington Post, citing anonymous sources, reported that the two Republicans met in Miami on April 28 to discuss how they could work together ahead of the general election, with Trump’s advisers hoping DeSantis would appeal to his donor network to help fundraise for Trump ahead of the election.
The meeting represented the first time the pair had communicated since DeSantis dropped out of the Republican primaries earlier this year, The Washington Post said. The governor left the race in January after a disappointing result in the Iowa primaries. He then endorsed Trump in a post on social media, and the former president said in an interview with Fox News on February 20 that DeSantis was on his vice president shortlist.
Kimberly Leonard, a Politico reporter who also covered the story, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the meeting was not about the vice presidency, reiterating that the Republicans met to discuss fundraising efforts.
Still, social media users speculated that the pair was forming an alliance, with one user writing, “Could DeSantis be Trump’s VP pick?”
Photo by Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images)
Newsweek has contacted representatives for Trump and DeSantis for comment via email.
Another user wrote on X, “Ron DeSantis will 100 percent be Trump’s VP pick.”
“Trump and DeSantis would win the November election in a landslide,” a commenter said.
“Any other outcome would be 100 percent fraudulent,” another added.
I thought this went without saying but I’m getting calls asking, so apparently not.
No — the meeting was NOT about a VP spot. Gov. DeSantis wants to help with fundraising for Trump for the general election.
It’ll help make peace, positioning him for influence and a future run. https://t.co/Pl5kbqHwzf
— Kimberly Leonard (@leonardkl) April 29, 2024
However, not everyone agreed with the speculation. Justin Hart, the founder of Rational Ground and author of Gone Viral: How Covid Drove the World Insane, said the chances of Trump picking DeSantis as his vice president were “very slim.” He added that Trump would not choose the governor unless he became “really desperate.”
The chances that Trump picks DeSantis for his VP are very slim. The #1 guiding factor: the VP MUST NOT UPSTAGE Trump.
Unless Trump is REALLY desperate, I still assert that Tim Scott with the the VP nominee.
— Justin Hart (@justin_hart) April 29, 2024
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, another name on Trump’s VP shortlist and once a front-runner for the position, saw her odds at assuming the role fall dramatically on an online prediction market after the British newspaper The Guardian, citing extracts from Noem’s forthcoming book, reported that she once shot her “untrainable” dog.
Earlier this month, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running for president as an independent candidate, said he declined an offer from members of Trump’s inner circle to run as Trump’s vice president.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.