Former president Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis met privately Sunday morning in Miami, according to people familiar with the matter, breaking a years-long chill between the presumptive Republican nominee and his onetime chief primary rival.
Washington
Trump and DeSantis meet privately in Florida
The pair met for several hours and DeSantis agreed to help Trump. The meeting was friendly, according to a person with direct knowledge.
Trump and allied groups have lagged behind President Biden and his allies in the money chase. DeSantis has built a wide network of wealthy patrons whose assistance would be valuable in helping Trump try to close the gap, and is popular with some Republican voters who are exhausted by Trump.
There is an incentive for DeSantis to form a closer relationship, as well. People close to DeSantis have said it is untenable for him to continue to have a strained relationship with Trump, particularly as he eyes his political future. He is widely viewed among Republican donors and consultants as weakened after a shellacking by Trump in the primary.
The meeting was orchestrated by Steve Witkoff, a Florida real estate broker both men know, and he attended. Witkoff called the former president’s team and asked for him to meet with DeSantis, a person familiar with the matter said.
Trump and DeSantis had not spoken since the end of a bruising primary, where DeSantis dropped out after a disappointing finish in Iowa, following months of attacks from Trump and his supporters. DeSantis offered a video endorsing Trump on the day he left the race.
“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” DeSantis said in a video message he posted that Sunday afternoon on the social media site X. “They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance, and they see Democrats using lawfare to this day to attack him.”
But DeSantis has not campaigned for Trump or helped him since, and in fact has made backhanded criticisms of Trump. DeSantis was stung by how Trump and his team treated him during the primary, people close to the Florida governor said.
In a call with supporters in February after dropping out, DeSantis said Trump had political baggage and criticized some in Trump’s orbit.
“I think he’s got people in his inner circle who were part of our orbit years ago that we fired, and I think some of that is they just have an ax to grind,” DeSantis said. The comments angered Trump’s team.
At the time, Chris LaCivita, a top aide to Trump, called DeSantis a “sad little man.”
DeSantis is widely loathed inside Trump’s orbit, but the former president has shown a willingness to be forgiving and remarkably transactional when it benefits him.
“Will I be using the name Ron DeSanctimonious?” he said after DeSantis endorsed him. “I said that name is officially retired.”
The two men have never been personally close, but Trump endorsed DeSantis in 2018 for governor of Florida — and once viewed him as a rising star in the party.
In recent weeks, DeSantis held an event for donors at a resort in Florida, and people close to him said he is potentially interested in running for president again in 2028. During the Republican primary, Trump told advisers he wanted to hurt DeSantis for 2028, too. But he has moved his focus on to Biden and his criminal trial in recent weeks, and Trump allies say he would favorably view DeSantis raising money for him.
Washington
HIGHLIGHT | Lawrence Dots a Pass to Washington for a 6-Yard TD
DE Dawuane Smoot, LB Foyesade Oluokun, TE Brenton Strange, S Eric Murray, and S Antonio Johnson speak with the media after practice on Thursday ahead of the Wild Card Matchup vs. Bills.
0:00 – 2:28 – DE Dawuane Smoot
2:29 – 6:24 – LB Foyesade Oluokun
6:25 – 9:25 – TE Brenton Strange
9:26 – 11:32 – S Eric Murray
11:33 – 13:46 – S Antonio Johnson
Washington
Iran warns Washington it will retaliate against any attack
DUBAI, Jan 11 (Reuters) – Iran warned President Donald Trump on Sunday that any U.S. attack would lead to Tehran striking back against Israel and regional U.S. military bases as “legitimate targets”, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf told parliament.
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Washington
Washington National Opera cuts ties with the Kennedy Center after longstanding partnership | CNN Politics
The Washington National Opera on Friday announced it is parting ways with the Kennedy Center after more than a decade with the arts institution.
“Today, the Washington National Opera announced its decision to seek an amicable early termination of its affiliation agreement with the Kennedy Center and resume operations as a fully independent nonprofit entity,” the opera said in a statement.
The decoupling marks another high-profile withdrawal since President Donald Trump and his newly installed board of trustees instituted broad thematic and cosmetic changes to the building, including renaming the facility “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
The opera said it plans to “reduce its spring season and relocate performances to new venues.”
A source familiar with the dynamic told CNN the decision to part ways was made by the opera’s board and its leadership, and that the decision was not mutual.
A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center said in a statement, “After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with the WNO due to a financially challenging relationship. We believe this represents the best path forward for both organizations and enables us to make responsible choices that support the financial stability and long-term future of the Trump Kennedy Center.”
Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell, who was appointed by Trump’s hand-picked board, said on X, “Having an exclusive relationship has been extremely expensive and limiting in choice and variety.”
Grenell added, “Having an exclusive Opera was just not financially smart. And our patrons clearly wanted a refresh.”
Since taking the reins at the center, Grenell has cut existing staff, hired political allies and mandated a “break-even policy” for every performance.
The opera said the new policy was a factor in its decision to leave the center.
“The Center’s new business model requires productions to be fully funded in advance—a requirement incompatible with opera operations,” the opera said.
Francesca Zambello, the opera’s artistic director, said she is “deeply saddened to leave The Kennedy Center.”
“In the coming years, as we explore new venues and new ways of performing, WNO remains committed to its mission and artistic vision,” she said.
The New York Times first reported the opera’s departure.
Founded in 1956 as the “Opera Society of Washington,” the group has performed across the district, taking permanent residency in the Kennedy Center in 2011.
The performing arts center has been hit with a string of abrupt cancellations from artists in recent weeks including the jazz group The Cookers and New York City-based dance company Doug Varone and Dancers who canceled their performances after Trump’s name was added to the center – a living memorial for assassinated President John F. Kennedy.
The American College Theater Festival voted to suspend its relationship with the Kennedy Center, calling the affiliation “no longer viable” and citing concerns over a misalignment of the group’s values.
American banjo player Béla Fleck withdrew his upcoming performance with the National Symphony Orchestra, saying that performing at the center has become “charged and political.”
The Brentano String Quartet, who canceled their February 1 performance at the Kennedy Center, said they will “regretfully forego performing there.”
CNN has reached out to the Kennedy Center on the additional cancellations.
The opera said, “The Board and management of the company wish the Center well in its own future endeavors.”
CNN’s Betsy Klein and Nicky Robertson contributed to this report.
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