Donald Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis met Sunday morning in Miami. The chill thawed between the two men. 

They had not spoken since DeSantis suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed Trump. Allies of the two set up the meeting. Trump's people hope that DeSantis will make his donor network available to Trump to raise significant amounts of money for the general election in November. 

The meeting, described as friendly, lasted several hours. DeSantis agreed to help Trump. 

Trump lags behind Joe Biden in raising campaign money. DeSantis has a network of big donors. The DeSantis network can help Trump close the fundraising gap. 

The meeting was orchestrated by Steve Witkoff, a Florida real estate investor and developer both men know, and he attended. Witkoff called the former president’s team and asked for him to meet with DeSantis, a person familiar with the matter said.

In recent weeks, DeSantis held an event for donors at a resort in Florida, and people close to him said he is potentially interested in running for president again in 2028. During the Republican primary, Trump told advisers he wanted to hurt DeSantis for 2028, too. But he has moved his focus on to Biden and his criminal trial in recent weeks, and Trump allies say he would favorably view DeSantis raising money for him.

There is no love lost between Trump and DeSantis. This is political expediency. DeSantis is rising above the past battles and doing what he can to unify the Republican Party, I think. I admit he is a better person than I would probably be in his situation. Trump's campaign spent tens of millions of dollars in attack ads to knock DeSantis out of the campaign. It was ugly. One Trump sycophant suggested that Casey DeSantis faked her battle with breast cancer. 

DeSantis is young, still in his 40s. He has plenty of time to pursue the presidency again. He seems to think he won't be off to a good start in 2028 if he runs again for president without Trump's support. There is no guarantee, though, that Trump would support him then. He already said he wants to hurt DeSantis in 2028. Who doubts that, given Trump's behavior in 2023? 

DeSantis is experiencing big success in Florida. He is the most successful Republican governor in the country. Most importantly, he turned a purple swing state into a deep red state. He has grown the Republican Party in the state and greatly expanded Republican voter registration. He won a second term as governor by 20 points. His future is still bright, despite being crushed in the GOP primary, as the other not-Trump candidates were. 

DeSantis is an honorable man. He does the right thing and I think this is what he is doing now. I doubt he will hit the campaign trail with Trump when Trump can campaign. He'll probably help with the financial support - his donors may help Trump narrow Biden's lead and that's important. 

One nagging question that I think about, though. What if Trump loses in November? Does he continue as he did in 2020? Does he declare he'll run again in 2028 if he remains healthy? First, we have to get through the election. Then we'll see what happens.