Ron DeSantis VP Speculation Erupts After Donald Trump Meeting

A meeting between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis has fueled speculation online that the former president may choose the Florida governor as his running mate in November's election.

The Washington Post, citing anonymous sources, reported that the two Republicans met in Miami on April 28 to discuss how they could work together ahead of the general election, with Trump's advisers hoping DeSantis would appeal to his donor network to help fundraise for Trump.

The meeting represented the first time the pair had communicated since DeSantis dropped out of the Republican primaries earlier this year, The Washington Post said. The governor left the race in January after a disappointing result in the Iowa primaries. He then endorsed Trump in a post on social media, and the former president said in an interview with Fox News on February 20 that DeSantis was on his vice president shortlist.

Kimberly Leonard, a Politico reporter who also covered the story, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the meeting was not about the vice presidency, reiterating that the Republicans met to discuss fundraising efforts.

Still, social media users speculated that the pair was forming an alliance, with one user writing, "Could DeSantis be Trump's VP pick?"

Newsweek has contacted representatives for Trump and DeSantis for comment via email.

Another user wrote on X, "Ron DeSantis will 100 percent be Trump's VP pick."

"Trump and DeSantis would win the November election in a landslide," a commenter said.

"Any other outcome would be 100 percent fraudulent," another added.

However, not everyone agreed with the speculation. Justin Hart, the founder of Rational Ground and author of Gone Viral: How Covid Drove the World Insane, said the chances of Trump picking DeSantis as his vice president were "very slim." He added that Trump would not choose the governor unless he became "really desperate."

Speaking to Newsweek, Scott Lucas, an international politics professor at University College Dublin in Ireland, said the Republican Party was probably "in good shape to win Florida," meaning DeSantis was unlikely to be the most prominent VP choice.

He said the meeting was held to stop DeSantis from "causing trouble for Trump" and to ensure he supports the presumptive Republican nominee in the upcoming presidential election.

"This is just simply trying to line up everybody, play nice for the election," Lucas added.

He also said Trump should choose a candidate who could help him win swing states or someone who could show diversity within the party.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, another name on Trump's VP shortlist and once a front-runner for the position, saw her odds at assuming the role fall dramatically on an online prediction market after the British newspaper The Guardian, citing extracts from Noem's forthcoming book, reported that she once shot her "untrainable" dog.

Earlier this month, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running for president as an independent candidate, said he declined an offer from members of Trump's inner circle to run as Trump's vice president.

Update 04/20/24, 9:15 a.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.