Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been calling donors on behalf of President Donald Trump’s reelection efforts in advance of two fundraisers scheduled by the campaign in the state this week.
Politico noted the effort is a show of loyalty by DeSantis and comes as the governor tries to deal with the surge of coronavirus infections in his state and after he disagreed with Trump on a campaign hire.
Trump is set to hold fundraisers at a Tampa golf club on Friday. And he is scheduled for another one at his Trump National Doral Miami golf resort the following day.
“The governor has completely shut down his fundraising operation to steer us through the pandemic, but given the proximity of the presidential election, he made it a priority to make calls to donors around the state to make the Trump Tampa and Miami events successful,” said Nick Iarossi, a Tallahassee lobbyist and DeSantis fundraiser.
Politico noted the governor’s fundraising calls in the last week started after he and the president clashed over Susie Wiles, who was hired to assist Trump’s campaign in Florida.
Wiles had been fired last year by the Trump campaign, Politico said. The website said DeSantis suspected she bore responsibility for a leak of internal documents suggesting the governor appeared to be selling access to special interests on golfing trips. However, her friends say that suspicion is unfair.
According to Politico, DeSantis made it known he was angry about the rehire.
Most polls show Trump trailing Joe Biden in Florida. A new Mason-Dixon survey has Biden ahead by 4 points.