“He’s a friend of mine,” said President Donald Trump of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in a recent interview. “He just named an airport after me,” the president added, referring to Palm Beach International Airport.
Is DeSantis a good enough friend to the commander-in-chief to become part of his cabinet? That part isn’t clear yet, but Trump didn’t rule it out in the interview with The New York Post’s Pod Force One Podcast hosted by Miranda Devine.
When she asked if Trump was considering appointing DeSantis as the nation’s new attorney general, Trump said he hadn’t considered it. Todd Blanche, who has acted as Trump’s personal attorney, has been acting attorney general since Pam Bondi was booted from the role in April.
“I wanted to see how he’s received,” said Trump of Blanche, who he indicated would become the official attorney general. “He’s done a very good job.”
Blanche confirmed during testimony before a House subcommittee Tuesday that the Trump administration would back down from establishing a $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to benefit Trump allies, ABC News reported. This confirmation came amid “heavy pressure from Republican congressional leadership,” said the outlet.
As for DeSantis, Trump said “Ron’s very good,” but added that they hadn’t talked about the governor joining the Trump administration as attorney general.
That seems to conflict with an account published by Axios in April. According to the outlet, Trump told a confidant that DeSantis was “begging” to be attorney general at a lunch that month at Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami, Fla. Another source cited by the outlet said they didn’t think “AG is real” but that the two men did have lunch at the club around that time.
Altogether, six unnamed sources cited in the Axios report said that Trump told confidants that DeSantis wants a job in the Trump administration. The outlet noted that DeSantis will have to leave office after the end of his second term in January due to term limits.
Axios said that DeSantis actually began talking with the president about a potential cabinet position last year, when Trump began his second term in the White House. One of its sources said that DeSantis – a U.S. Navy veteran – isn’t realty interested in the AG job and that he would rather lead the Department of War or serve as a Supreme Court justice.
Trump even considered DeSantis to lead the Department of War (renamed this term from the Department of Defense) before selecting current Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, per the Axios report. Its sources believe “Trump would strongly consider DeSantis for the post if Hegseth left,” the outlet said.
However, DeSantis’ “dream job” would be to serve on the Supreme Court, according to one of the sources. Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas and DeSantis “almost have a father-son relationship and would be a hell of a legacy for Trump,” the source said. Out of the nine sitting Supreme Court justices, Trump has appointed three: Justice Amy Coney Barret, Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
While Trump praised DeSantis in the recent interview, things have not always been sunny between the two Florida Republicans. Back in 2023, when DeSantis was running against Trump in the Republican presidential primary, Trump compared him to a “very badly injured bird.”
He also criticized Florida’s abortion ban for being “too harsh” that year and said DeSantis had “no personality,” and that he was lacking in “political skill.” Trump nicknamed the governor “Ron DeSanctimonious” during the 2023 GOP primary season.
Now, one of Axios’ sources who said Trump is “inclined to consider helping out his understudy-turned-rival-turned-friend,” in the outlet’s words. At the same time, it reported that Trump’s cabinet is “stocked” with critics of DeSantis.
“Bygones are bygones,” said one unnamed Trump adviser cited by Axios. “But that doesn’t mean people forget.”
DeSantis spokesperson Alex Lanfranconi said in a statement that the governor enjoys working with Trump. He also said DeSantis looks forward to continuing to work with Trump on immigration laws, college athletics reform and restoration of the Everglades.
“Some in the media prefer to focus on fake rumors rather than the many accomplishments of Florida's partnership with the Trump administration,” Lanfranconi said.
Terry Miller, a Republican political consultant, told Gulf Coast News Now that he doesn’t think it’s likely that DeSantis will become attorney general, though he thinks the governor would be “fantastic” in the role. He explained that appointing DeSantis before his term is over would create an awkward situation: his governor seat would be filled by current Florida Lt. Governor Jay Collins. Collins was running against Byron Donalds for a seat in the Florida State Senate, and Trump endorsed Donalds over him.
