Former Ambassador Under Trump Admin Jumps Ship To DeSantis

This week, just a few miles apart in the Sunshine State, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) and former President Donald Trump will hold opposing fundraising events.

The two occasions occur as several former Trump supporters have already switched to DeSantis, including a former Trump mega-supporter who served as the former president’s ambassador.

Trump will host his largest contributors on Thursday night at Mar-a-Lago for his PAC’s first fundraising event of the year, which Politico claimed is being touted as “an intimate candlelight supper.”

At the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, four miles away, DeSantis plans to stage a far larger, three-day event.

In an article for Politico on Tuesday, Alex Isenstadt stated that DeSantis’ dinner will “be watched for which contributors attend, particularly how many were once supporters of Trump who may be eager to desert from the former president to the Florida governor.”

Isenstadt observed that DeSantis is currently engaging in all the customary activities a candidate engages in prior to entering a presidential contest. The governor is on tour to increase his national reputation and is getting ready to publish a book. DeSantis has also already gained the support of numerous former Trump backers.

Don Tapia, a retired CEO from an electrical company who served as Trump’s ambassador to Jamaica, is on the list of defectors. He is an Arizona donor. Tapia gave six figures to Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns, but he stated he would support DeSantis if he ran in 2024, according to Isenstadt.

Tapia explained to Politico why he decided to stop supporting Trump: “The name-calling has turned off a lot of people.” Tell you what, we don’t like that.

In addition, Tapia “predicted that the retreat will be ‘overwhelmingly’ attended by former Trump supporters” who might back DeSantis.

According to reports, the Florida governor will speak about his recent political initiatives, “including his ongoing fight with Disney, his decision to send planes of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., and his battle against what he has derided as “woke” liberals,” and provide a “data-focused briefing on the reelection win.”

DeSantis has previously been under serious attack from Trump, who has referred to him as a “globalist,” a “RINO” (Republican in name only), and even implied that he was once a “groomer” of young girls.