'The fragile truce' between Trump and DeSantis is about to be upended — here's why

26 February

When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis exited the 2024 GOP presidential primary and endorsed frontrunner Donald Trump, it wasn't an overly enthusiastic endorsement. DeSantis' attacks on Trump during the primary were mild, but Trump resented the Florida governor for running in the first place.

Now, according to MSNBC's Clarissa-Jan Lim, there may be a new source of tension between Trump and DeSantis: Florida's 2026 gubernatorial race.

DeSantis, under Florida election law, cannot seek a third term as governor — and he is encouraging his wife, Casey DeSantis, to run. Trump, however, has endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Florida).

At a press conference in Tampa on Monday, December 24, Gov. DeSantis said of his wife, "Anything we've accomplished, she'd be able to take to the next level…. She's never angled for anything. But I will tell you this: You're talking about somebody like her — I won by the biggest margin that any Republican's won a governor's race here in Florida. She would do better than me."

In 2022, DeSantis defeated Democratic gubernatorial nominee Charlie Crist by 19 percent.

Trump, in a February 20 post on his truth Social platform, wrote, "Byron Donalds would be a truly Great and Powerful Governor for Florida and, should he decide to run, will have my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, BYRON, RUN!"

But Gov. DeSantis, at his December 24 presser, said of Casey DeSantis and Donalds, "We've achieved victories in Florida. A guy like Byron, he just hasn't been a part of any of the victories that we've had here over the left over these last years."

In an opinion column published on December 25, Lim describes "DeSantis' remarks on Monday" as a "striking departure from Trump's enthusiastic backing of Donalds for governor" — arguing that "they threaten to upend the fragile truce between the men."

"Trump and the Florida governor have had a contentious relationship," Lim observes. "Trump endorsed DeSantis for the job in 2019, and the two remained on friendly terms in the subsequent years as DeSantis' conservative star rose. But their relationship soured amid DeSantis' disastrous presidential primary campaign last year, though relations between both men later improved after DeSantis dropped his campaign and endorsed Trump."

Lim adds, "The Republican nominee in the 2026 governor's race is likely to be elected governor of Florida, a reliably red state."

Clarissa-Jan Lim's full MSNBC column is available at this link.

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