Why did Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis meet privately in Florida?

Sunday morning saw the meeting of former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in Miami. The once-rivals on the campaign trail most likely need to seek common ground if the Republican Party can have a shot at the White House in November.

During DeSantis’ 2024 Republican presidential campaign, things got heated a few times between the two prior to DeSantis ending his race for Washington back in January. While the pair once seemed like they would be allies, due to some similarities in terms of persona and ideology within the Republican Party, they sparred with one another back and forth during the primaries. The Florida governor stepping out of the race became the go-ahead to have Trump punch his ticket to square off with President Joe Biden come November.

This Miami meeting, of course, sparks rumors and perks up political journalists’ ears about Donald Trump potentially picking Ron DeSantis as his running mate for Vice President. We’ve seen rivals become running mates before. However, the knowledge of what was discussed Sunday morning has been kept deliberately private.

The meeting was put together by Florida real estate investor Steve Witkoff, a mutual friend of both Desantis and Trump. If not offering a prospective cabinet position to further DeSantis’ political career, there is a chance that Trump may be leaning on his former rival to tap into DeSantis’ network of donors for a big push as the election year continues. This shows that the two may need each other to move things forward as a united front. This discussion, which was believed to have been more friendly in tone, was the first time the pair shared words since Trump slaughtered DeSantis in the primaries in Iowa. A process that, despite DeSantis ultimately showing his support for Donald Trump going forward, definitely left a bad taste in his mouth, as he comes across to the public as a man who yearns for a higher seat in political office.

The results of this meeting is something that the American people are just going to have to wait and find out about. The U.S. electorate has seen it time and time again: Lines are drawn during the primaries, but after that part of the campaign trail is over, we see alliances take place. Trump and DeSantis were always going to be a pair that many on both sides of the political pendulum will always have their eyes on.