{"id":2376995,"date":"2024-12-06T07:30:02","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T12:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-and-desantiss-relationship-mended-amid-speculation-about-defense-secretary-nomination-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-12-06T07:31:28","modified_gmt":"2024-12-06T12:31:28","slug":"trump-and-desantiss-relationship-mended-amid-speculation-about-defense-secretary-nomination-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-and-desantiss-relationship-mended-amid-speculation-about-defense-secretary-nomination-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump and DeSantis&#8217;s relationship mended amid speculation about defense secretary nomination &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-and-desantiss-relationship-mended-amid-speculation-about-defense-secretary-nomination-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2376995&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article\u200b discusses \u200bthe\u2063 recent reconciliation \u200dbetween\u200c President-elect Donald Trump and\u2064 Florida Governor\u200b Ron DeSantis amidst the \u2063backdrop of the 2024\u2064 presidential race. Despite previous\u200b tensions, especially during their campaigns, the two leaders have reportedly met and are considering \u2064collaborative opportunities, such as\u200c DeSantis possibly leading the Pentagon if Pete HegsethS Senate confirmation fails. Their relationship had soured \u200bduring \u200cthe election period, with Trump publicly criticizing DeSantis, whom he nicknamed &#8220;Ron DeSanctimonious.&#8221; However, \u200bafter \u200bboth exited the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pro-trump-religious-groups-begin-turning-up-heat-on-gop-to-take-action-on-marjorie-taylor-greene\/\" title=\"Pro-Trump, Religious Groups Begin Turning Up Heat On GOP To Take Action On Marjorie Taylor Greene\">primary race<\/a>, they have made \u2064efforts to\u2063 mend their alliance, with DeSantis endorsing \u2063Trump after\u2062 critical events, including \u2064an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/amnesty-international-strips-aleksei-navalny-of-prisoner-of-conscience-status-for-decades-old-comments-on-immigration\/\" title=\"Amnesty International Strips Aleksei Navalny Of \u2018Prisoner Of Conscience\u2019 Status For Decades-Old Comments On Immigration\">assassination attempt<\/a>.\u2064 The reconciliation comes as Trump continues to assert confidence in\u2064 Hegseth while navigating his own cabinet selections for the \u200bupcoming management.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Trump and DeSantis&rsquo;s rocky relationship repaired as speculation mounts he could replace Hegseth<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1904509\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>President-elect <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Donald Trump<\/a> has mended his relationship with Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ron-desantis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Ron DeSantis<\/a> (R-FL) despite an extremely fraught <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2024-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">2024<\/a> primary race.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Trump met with DeSantis in recent days and is reportedly considering him as a potential nominee to lead the Pentagon should Fox News host Pete Hegseth fail the confirmation process in the Senate. The two leaders were among a group of Florida Republicans in attendance at a&nbsp;memorial service over the weekend honoring three Palm Beach County Sheriff&rsquo;s Office deputies killed in a traffic accident last month.<\/p>\n<p>Still, many in MAGA world remain skeptical of possibly welcoming the second-term governor into a second Trump administration, given the history between the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mike-kelly-same-people-criticizing-trump-peddled-russia-collusion-hoax\/\" title=\"Mike Kelly: Same People Criticizing Trump Peddled Russia Collusion Hoax\">president-elect<\/a> and &ldquo;DeSanctimonious.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3223892\/president-elect-donald-trump-cabinet-picks-list\/\"><strong>TRUMP CABINET PICKS: WHO&rsquo;S BEEN TAPPED TO SERVE IN THE PRESIDENT-ELECT&rsquo;S ADMINISTRATION<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s endorsement, in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-cant-deny-responsibility-for-our-so-so-divided-nation\/\" title=\"Biden Can\u2019t Deny Responsibility For Our \u2018So, So Divided\u2019 Nation\">president-elect&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s own words, helped DeSantis &ldquo;[take] off like a rocket ship]&rdquo; and win Florida&rsquo;s 2018 gubernatorial election. Trump repeatedly praised DeSantis for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and DeSantis quickly came out in support of Trump in the hours after the F.B.I.&rsquo;s search of Mar-a-Lago back in 2023 in pursuant of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">improperly handled classified documents<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Still, the relationship quickly soured after both jumped into the 2024 presidential race.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The problem with Ron DeSanctimonious is that he needs a personality transplant, and those are not yet available,&rdquo; Trump said in late 2023 of his then-primary opponent. &ldquo;Almost all congressmen and women that served with him and knew him well supported me, some of them surprisingly so because of their relationship with Ron.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Trump routinely mocked DeSantis on the trail until the latter ended his bid in the spring. One ad from Trump&rsquo;s Make America Great Again Inc super PAC propagated an online rumor that DeSantis routinely ate pudding with his hands.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Pudding Fingers <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PRCVAZlkw9\">pic.twitter.com\/PRCVAZlkw9<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; MAGA War Room (@MAGAIncWarRoom) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MAGAIncWarRoom\/status\/1646839424460771329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 14, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who has voiced approval for some of Trump&rsquo;s Cabinet nominees, jokingly repeated another of Trump&rsquo;s attacks on DeSantis while weighing in on his potential nomination Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3162079\/trump-cabinet-names-rumors\/\"><strong>NAMES SWIRL FOR TRUMP SECOND CABINET AS TRANSITION TEAM MEETS WHITE HOUSE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll consider a YES on him if he finally admits to his boots with 4&rdquo; lifts,&rdquo; Fetterman wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I&rsquo;ll consider a YES on him if he finally admits to his boots with 4&rdquo; lifts. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/h8sqFGXzyU\">pic.twitter.com\/h8sqFGXzyU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SenFettermanPA\/status\/1864319176422109205?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 4, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>DeSantis did eventually endorse Trump and was quick to back the president-elect after the foiled Butler assassination attempt.<\/p>\n<p>Trump also reportedly met with DeSantis in Miami in April, following DeSantis&rsquo;s primary exit, where the two made amends. <\/p>\n<p>Trump officials say the president-elect maintains confidence in Hegseth&rsquo;s confirmation chances and that the Florida governor had previously been in consideration for several Cabinet positions.<\/p>\n<p>Multiple Florida Republican operatives downplayed the idea that Trump and DeSantis had any making up to do in the first place. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;President Trump knows that Ron is a warrior, and as soon as DeSantis made clear that he would no longer stand in his way on the road back to the White House &mdash;&nbsp;problem solved,&rdquo; one veteran Republican strategist, with past ties to both camps, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;We need people like Ron in the fight. He would be a great asset to the Trump administration, in any capacity.&rdquo;  <\/p>\n<p>One Florida campaign operative voiced some concern over the chain reaction nominating DeSantis might set off in Tallahassee.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3220465\/what-trump-promised-day-one-white-house\/\"><strong>WHAT TRUMP HAS PROMISED TO DO ON DAY 1 IN THE OVAL OFFICE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Should DeSantis leave office early, Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez would become governor and immediately be faced with picking not only a new lieutenant but also the seat vacated by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Trump&rsquo;s secretary of state nominee.<\/p>\n<p>Still, unlike in Trump&rsquo;s first term, this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/white-house\/\">White House<\/a> has a new gatekeeper who might be predisposed to keeping DeSantis on the outside.<\/p>\n<p>Susie Wiles, Trump&rsquo;s incoming chief of staff and co-campaign manager, has her own history with DeSantis. <\/p>\n<p>Wiles, a longtime Florida-based Republican operative herself, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/04\/18\/us\/politics\/susie-wiles-trump-desantis.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"helped usher DeSantis\">helped usher DeSantis<\/a> onto the national stage but was banished from his inner circle during his first term in Tallahassee on suspicion of leaking to the media. DeSantis&rsquo;s crusade against Wiles resulted in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/magazine\/2024\/04\/26\/susie-wiles-trump-desantis-profile-00149654\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"the loss of her lobbying job\">the loss of her lobbying job<\/a> with Ballard Partners but didn&rsquo;t prevent Trump from hiring her for his 2020 and 2024 campaigns.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;What he did to Susie? Well, that was just a low blow,&rdquo; Mike Hightower, a former health insurance lobbyist from Jacksonville and a longtime ally of Wiles, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tallahassee.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2024\/11\/13\/trump-desantis-relationship-history-future-president-susie-wiles\/76223328007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"told USA Today\">told <em>USA Today<\/em><\/a>. &ldquo;He tried to take away her livelihood. Just so mean spirited.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;She hates him,&rdquo; a source close to Trump&rsquo;s transition team added to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2024\/12\/04\/trump-desantis-defense-dissent-00192645\" title=\"Politico\">Politico<\/a><\/em>. &ldquo;Vance probably sees him as a rival.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The bad blood between Wiles and DeSantis apparently runs so deep that real estate investor Steve Witkoff, recently appointed by Trump to be special envoy to the Middle East, stepped in to broker Trump and DeSantis&rsquo;s April meeting to bury the hatchet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1904509\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1904509\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump and DeSantis have repaired their rocky relationship amid speculation about a Pentagon nomination<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2645,"featured_media":2376996,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/trump-desantis.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[35456,4980,5894,3634],"class_list":["post-2376995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-defense-secretary","tag-desantis","tag-politics","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/trump-desantis.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2645"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2376995"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2376999,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376995\/revisions\/2376999"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2376996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2376995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2376995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2376995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}