Newsmax has had an odd relationship with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — apparently getting paid to air a holiday special about him while also trashing him and his failed presidential campaign. But time tends to heal wounds, and DeSantis is going the right (wing) things. Brian Freeman gushed in an April 27 article:
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed a new congressional map Monday in an effort to add four Republican House seats, less than a week after Virginia passed a referendum that would likely add four Democrat seats, the Washington Examiner reported Monday.
Under the proposal by the GOP governor, only four of the state’s 28 seats would lean Democrat.
Freeman did add a note of caution, however:
If approved, the new map would go to DeSantis’ desk to be signed into law in time for the November midterm elections.
But the Miami Herald reported that remaking Florida’s congressional map is a risky move for state Republicans, who face stringent redistricting rules and the risk of turning safe GOP seats into competitive ones.
Several Florida Republican members of Congress have cautioned that redistricting could leave them more vulnerable after Democrats flipped two Republican seats in recent special elections.
Solange Reyner spent a May 9 article touting how DeSantis returned to Trump’s good graces:
President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have rebuilt their relationship despite friction with some of Trump’s advisers as DeSantis weighs his next political moves, reports the Wall Street Journal.
DeSantis, whose second term as governor ends next January, has not ruled out a future presidential run, possibly in 2028. Rumors are also circulating about a possible position in Trump’s cabinet, perhaps even as attorney general.
The Journal said other DeSantis backers are floating him as a potential Supreme Court pick should another justice retire.
[…]DeSantis ran for president in 2024 but dropped out after finishing far behind Trump in the Iowa primary.
He and Trump reconciled after a contentious primary, with Trump calling DeSantis a friend and stating they have “blood that seems to match pretty well.”
His relationship with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles remains severed, though, following a bitter fallout in 2019.
Still, Reyner took some shots at DeSantis:
Wiles, a top Florida operative, managed DeSantis’ successful 2018 gubernatorial campaign but DeSantis removed her in 2019 following a “falling out” over leaked, unfavorable stories about his administration.
Longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone has also criticized DeSantis as untrustworthy.
Reyner didn’t say anything else about DeSantis’ failed 2024 presidential campaign.