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'Ron, I love that you're back': Trump and DeSantis put an often personal primary fight behind them
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are signaling to donors that they are putting their rivalry behind them after a contentious and often personal primary fight.
DeSantis convened his allies this week in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to press them to raise money to support Trump, making the case over a seafood and steak dinner that they need to work together to prevent Democratic President Joe Biden from winning a second term. The governor and about 30 people then spent Thursday morning in a hotel conference room raising money for an outside group that supports the former president’s 2024 White House campaign.
Trump called into the gathering to thank members of the group for their work, according to four people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to publicly discuss the private session and spoke on condition of anonymity.
In what three people present described as a warm and gracious call to the group that was heard over speakerphone, Trump praised DeSantis and the effort, saying “Ron, I love that you’re back.”
A reconciliation helps both of them. Trump is trying to make up fundraising ground against Biden while DeSantis hopes to preserve a potential future White House run for which Trump’s supporters could be key.
What to know about the 2024 Election
DeSantis and his top donors are raising money for the super political action committee Right for America, backed by big Republican donors such as Ike Perlmutter, who has agreed to match at least a portion of the DeSantis team’s fundraising rather than funneling money directly to Trump’s campaign.
That arrangement, reached after talks between the Trump and DeSantis camps, is designed to address concerns among DeSantis supporters about their money going to pay the former president’s legal bills, according to people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss the private talks. Trump notably blessed the structure when he called into the group’s meeting Thursday.
“This is where I want you to focus,” Trump said in a roughly 15-minute call, according to a senior political adviser to DeSantis who was not authorized to publicly discuss the private meeting and spoke on condition of anonymity.
DeSantis’ decision to push money to the PAC instead of giving directly to Trump’s campaign has raised eyebrows among some Trump campaign officials, according to a person familiar with the former president’s campaign thinking who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the arrangement.
Right for America is competing for donors with MAGA Inc., the chief super PAC backing Trump. Such groups are prohibited from directly coordinating with a presidential campaign, something that hamstrung DeSantis during his presidential run due to conflicts between his campaign and his support of Never Back Down, the largest super PAC backing DeSantis’ candidacy.
Other supporters of both men support the arrangement. Right for America is run by Sergio Gor, a longtime Trump ally who is close to the former president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. The two run Winning Team Publishing, which published two of the former president books.
Some DeSantis donors had been reluctant to give to Trump because they worried their money would help pay Trump’s lawyers in his criminal cases instead of being used directly to focus on beating Biden.
A number of big-name Florida contributors who have given to DeSantis remain hesitant about contributing to efforts to support Trump, said Al Hoffman, a Palm Beach County Republican donor and former Republican National Committee finance chair.
“I know that there are Republican conservative, big-money donors that are very reluctant to endorse Trump,” said Hoffman, who was also chairman of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s 2002 reelection campaign.
DeSantis endorsed Trump when he dropped out of the race and promised in a face-to-face meeting with the former president in April to work for his campaign. The 45-year-old governor, who has won two terms and pushed a longtime swing state increasingly to the right, may run for the White House again and would need the backing of Trump voters in a future Republican primary.
DeSantis called his allies to Fort Lauderdale this week to raise money for Trump, telling them on Wednesday night that they needed to work to prevent a second Biden term.
The meeting was the kickoff for what is expected to be a coast-to-coast fundraising effort by DeSantis allies, with upcoming events likely in Texas, California, Washington state and perhaps New York.
Trump and DeSantis have also discussed a role for the governor at the Republican National Convention. Aides to DeSantis said it was Trump’s suggestion and was not contingent on any fundraising effort on DeSantis’ part.
Donors who discussed the Thursday event were struck by the collegiality between Trump and DeSantis during the call to the meeting. One person who spoke on condition of anonymity about the closed-door gathering called the conversation “very gracious” and noted that Trump and DeSantis talked about golf, a favorite Trump pastime.
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Associated Press writer Jill Colvin in New York contributed to this report.
World
Video: Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican Reggae Icon, Is Dead
new video loaded: Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican Reggae Icon, Is Dead
transcript
transcript
Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican Reggae Icon, Is Dead
Jimmy Cliff, the Jamaican reggae singer who helped popularize the genre around the world with songs like “You Can Get It If You Really Want” and “The Harder They Come,” has died. He was 81.
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Music is like air that we breathe. And once it’s there, everybody breathes it. The industry, to me, is the first time I came out of my mother’s womb. And I say [screaming] — and I started making my sound and I never stopped. Music can highlight awareness. And from that awareness, people can take some kind of action to better the situation. I think that’s the role music has played through the ages. And I think it’s the role that it is playing now. And I think that is the role that it can play.
By Chevaz Clarke
November 24, 2025
World
Airlines pull Venezuela flights amid safety warning, as Trump ratchets up pressure on Maduro
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Several major airlines have pulled Venezuelan flights following a U.S. aviation safety warning, disrupting travel to the country and as the Trump administration escalates pressure on President Nicolás Maduro.
According to Reuters, at least three airlines, Brazil’s Gol, Colombia’s Avianca, and TAP Air Portugal, canceled departures from Caracas Saturday, with other international carriers making changes through Monday.
The flight disruption also impacted the U.K. and Europe, coinciding with the administration’s decision to designate the Venezuelan group known as the Cartel de los Soles, as a foreign terrorist organization.
TRUMP’S STRIKE ON CARTEL VESSEL OFF VENEZUELA SENDS WARNING TO MADURO: ‘NO SANCTUARY’
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned airlines about flying over Venezuela, issuing a notice urging them to “exercise caution” due to the “potentially hazardous situation” in the region. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
TAP said its flight decision followed U.S. advisories indicating that safety could not be guaranteed, Reuters reported.
Spain’s Iberia said it would suspend flights to Caracas starting Monday “until further notice,” though its Saturday service to Madrid operated as planned, per the report.
Copa Airlines and Wingo continued operations, while LATAM canceled its Sunday Bogotá-bound flight.
The airline changes primarily came after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a warning to aircraft operating in or over Venezuelan airspace.
TRUMP ENDS VENEZUELA TALKS, MILITARY OPTIONS LOOM, NEW REPORT
American Airlines plane sits on the tarmac at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela. (AP)
As reported by Fox News Digital, the FAA had warned airlines Nov. 22, about flying over Venezuela, issuing a notice urging them to “exercise caution” due to the “potentially hazardous situation” in the region.
The advisory comes as the U.S. has significantly increased its military presence across the Caribbean deploying bombers, warships, and Marines as part of a campaign targeting drug-trafficking operating near the region and airstrikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels.
On Monday, the State Department went on to formally announce the designation of the Cartel de los Soles in the Federal Register.
MARCO RUBIO SAYS NICOLÁS MADURO’S CARTEL DE LOS SOLES TO BE DESIGNATED A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION
USS Gravely and several other destroyers have been deployed to U.S. Southern Command as the Trump administration takes on drug cartels and President Nicolás Maduro. (Getty Images)
The Cartel de los Soles, or “Cartel of the Suns,” refers to a network of government and military officials in Venezuela engaged in drug trafficking.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said in a statement last week that the Cartel de los Soles and other cartels in Venezuela were “responsible for terrorist violence throughout our hemisphere as well as for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe.”
On Monday, European governments quickly updated their travel guidance. Germany warned that Venezuela’s situation remained “tense” and could deteriorate further.
Meanwhile, the U.K. advised travelers Sunday that flights were being canceled on short notice.
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“Some airlines have canceled flights at short notice,” the U.K. government advised. “If you have an upcoming flight to or from Venezuela, you should stay in touch with your airline or travel agency,” it said.
World
Watch the video: Russian frozen assets — what's next?
“You don’t have the cards” — that is what US President Donald Trump told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this year. But Brussels thought it held an ace: the frozen Russian assets. Now, the 28-point US peace plan has called out Europe’s hand.
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