Amid the blowout between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis proved Tuesday that reconciliation is possible and that political differences can be set aside for the good of country.
"I think it's a 10, maybe 9.9, because it might be a couple of little wounds," Trump told reporters of his relationship with DeSantis during a walkthrough of Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz" on Tuesday morning, as he made multiple stops to speak off the cuff with reporters.
"So maybe I think we have a 10. We get along great."
DeSantis jumped in to remind the group that the fallout between the powerful Republican leaders' voices was long water under his bridge.
"Thing about it is, you know, I endorsed him immediately in January 2024," DeSantis chimed in. "I raised his one of his PACs millions and millions of dollars, and obviously we saved them a lot of money in Florida because Florida was a deep red state.
"He didn't even have to do a rally in in Florida, whereas 2020, '16 and '20, this was like ground zero. And so we've been, you know, really happy to do that.
"And then we've worked very well on this and other issues with Florida. And you can call him at any time. And he wants to be helpful for governors," DeSantis said.
"I mean, I can tell you that we did Hurricane Helene last year, you didn't hear from the president at the time," DeSantis added. "But, you know, with President Trump, you know, we know immediately:just make the phone call."
In the roundtable discussion minutes later, Trump added further praise for DeSantis and their long-lasting "blood" bond on conservative issues.
"I want to express my tremendous thanks to the state of Florida for embracing this opportunity and being a true partner," Trump said at the end of his prepared remarks. "They've worked so well with the federal government. It's been just a beautiful, beautiful partnership.
"So, Ron, I'd like to thank you personally. You're my friend and you'll always be my friend.
"And we may have some skirmishes even in the future — I doubt it — but I will always come back because we just seem to, we have blood that seems to match pretty well.
"We have a relationship that's been a very strong one for a long period of time, and I appreciate it very much."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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