On Tuesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis shared a picture on social media from a golf trip he and first lady Casey DeSantis had with President Trump over the weekend.
The move by DeSantis comes as the race to replace the conservative governor’s term ends heats up. Trump supporter Rep. Bryon Donalds announced his bid after getting the president’s support, and the first lady said she’s thinking about running for office again in 2026.
The first couple of Florida and Trump had breakfast and played golf together at Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course over the weekend.
@CaseyDeSantis teeing off at Trump International in Palm Beach (made a birdie on the hole). The match was easy for Casey and @realDonaldTrump to win, the governor wrote in a post on his campaign account on X.
Fox News has been told by a Republican source in Florida that the governor and first lady used their morning with Trump to ask the president not to get involved in the governor’s race any further than endorsing Donalds.
In 2019, the president moved his main home to Florida. Two weeks ago, he wrote on social media that Donalds, who was a big supporter of Trump’s campaign in 2024, “would be a truly Great and Powerful Governor for Florida.”
It was also said by Trump that Donalds would have his full support if he decided to run. Come on, Byron! Run!”
A week later, Donalds announced his run for office on Fox News’ “Hannity.”
For almost a year, the conservative former state lawmaker had been thinking about running for governor. He has been in Congress for four years, representing parts of southwest Florida.
“I’ve thought about it.” Trump said in a Fox News Digital interview last spring, “I don’t really rule anything out.” He was asked about a possible run for governor.
There is a long and sometimes tense political past between Trump and DeSantis.
The president helped Rep. DeSantis win the 2018 election for governor, and the two worked together for a few years. But the two big names in the GOP fought a nasty fight in 2023 and early last year during the very nasty and divisive 2024 GOP presidential nomination race. As soon as Trump won the primaries, they seemed to get along again, and DeSantis helped Trump raise money during the general election.
At a news conference, DeSantis seemed to criticize Congressman Byron, saying, “I think people look at it and say you’ve got 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 the last years.” This was after Donalds entered the race.
Since he said those things, the governor hasn’t said anything bad about Donalds. Instead, he’s been bragging about his wife’s work as Florida’s first lady and praising her as a good candidate to take over.
The question of whether Casey DeSantis would run for office last week sparked more rumors.
“To quote the late Yogi Berra,” DeSantis said, reading again a famous quote from the late baseball great. “If you see a fork in the road, take it.”
This is what the governor said to the reporters: “You guys can read into that what you will.”
It was revealed by Fox News last week that Gov. DeSantis was also asking donors to help his wife.
Asked about Casey DeSantis, Donald told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo this past weekend that “I remember back in 2018 campaigning for then-Congressman DeSantis, who had the support of Donald Trump, and that worked out great for our state. So, as 2025 turns into 2026, I’m thrilled to have the same backing from President Trump.
“He has a history of making good picks, and I think his picks have always worked out for the Sunshine State,” Donald said.
He said that “we will worry about the primaries as other people decide to get in the race or not, but we are going to be focused on Floridians.”
Florida used to be a major battleground in general elections, but now it’s solidly red—DeSantis won re-election by almost 20 points, and Trump won the state by 13 points in November. The winner of the GOP primary will be seen as the front-runner in next year’s gubernatorial election.
