Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida has taken most references to President Donald Trump off his campaign website, according to a recent report released by Miami Herald. Donalds had carried Trump’s endorsement into a decisive Republican primary win in the race for governor.
A St. Pete Polls survey for Florida Politics, fielded Sept. 15 to 17 among 913 likely voters selected at random from the state’s registered voter files through automated calls and texts, put Donalds at 43.5% and former Republican congressman David Jolly at 43.4%.
Claire Heddles wrote for the Herald that the site had earlier been built around the Trump endorsement. A homepage button once said, “Chip in to Support Trump Endorsed Byron Donalds.” The lead line on the page read “TRUMP-ENDORSED Proven Conservative Fighter. BYRON DONALDS.” A yellow banner across the middle of the homepage said “ENDORSED BY PRESIDENT TRUMP!” and another section highlighted Trump’s 2025 endorsement with the words “RUN, BYRON, RUN!”
Campaign site revisions came after a close poll and revised race ratings
Heddles reported that those elements have been removed, as has a photo of Donalds and his wife, Erika Donalds, standing with Trump. She wrote that the endorsement now sits only inside a rotating list of other conservative backers that also includes Elon Musk, Sen. Rick Scott, Speaker Mike Johnson, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Charlie Kirk, and others, without special emphasis. Mediaite located one remaining small, fine-print reference to Trump on Donald’s “About” page.
Heddles reported that Donald’s issue list had previously opened with “Enact the Trump Agenda.” She wrote that the president’s name no longer appears there and that “affordability” now sits at the top. She also wrote that the second item had been “Fight Illegal Immigration” and that the topic now appears only as a line about wanting to “stop taxpayer handouts to illegal immigration” under the seventh item, “Law and Order.”
Donalds campaign spokesperson Gates McGavick told the Herald, “Our campaign website reflects Byron’s focus on the issues that matter most to Floridians – affordability, insurance costs, and government transparency. He’s running to be the next Governor of Florida, is proud to have President Trump’s endorsement, and has real policy proposals to tackle those issues. Meanwhile, David Jolly is all sound bites, no depth, and no policy.”
Jolly campaign senior advisor Mark Riddle told Mediaite, “Byron Donalds is panicked about David Jolly’s momentum and is trying to fool Florida voters with a desperate website change, but the reality is that Byron Donalds is nothing more than Trump’s yes man. He and Byron are tied at the hip for an agenda that has sent costs soaring. Florida voters are angry and ready for change, and David Jolly is ready to deliver.”
Florida Democratic Party spokesperson Evan Ecklund said in a statement given to Mediaite that Donalds “purged his website of nearly every trace of Donald Trump as the president’s approval ratings sink to historic lows in Florida.”
This comes as Trump’s approval hits new lows, such as when the GOP faces the prospect of losing the House and Senate. Ecklund said, “There is real trouble in paradise for Byron and Trump – MAGA’s favorite power couple is officially on the rocks.” He said Florida backed Trump by 13 points two years ago and that Donalds “is pretending he’s never met the guy because he knows it’s his only shot at winning.”
Ecklund also said, “As Trump’s numbers crater in Florida, Byron is desperately trying to go no-contact. But Floridians know the truth: Byron Donalds has been Trump’s right-hand man throughout his disastrous presidency, and a phony last-minute breakup won’t change that.”
The Herald reported that polling for Trump and Republicans has weakened during his second term, including on the economy and immigration, and that the war in Iran has also weighed on those numbers because of gas prices. These shifting dynamics have prompted Trump to defend his economic record, as he recently called his economy the greatest we’ve ever had and branded poll numbers crooked and corrupt.
Forecasters have moved several gubernatorial and House races toward Democrats as November has drawn closer, including Florida’s governor’s race. Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball recently changed that contest from Likely Republican to Lean Republican. The site updates also came after Rep. María Elvira Salazar of Florida received national coverage for a video ad in which she said Trump’s immigration crackdown had “gone too far” and made Hispanic voters in her district “feel betrayed.”
Published: Sep 23, 2026 08:15 am