NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump met privately with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over the weekend, marking a détente between the former rivals after a brutal Republican primary contest marked by insults and bruised egos, according to three people familiar with the discussion.
The meeting, which lasted three hours, was organized to help the men bury the hatchet and discuss potential joint fundraising efforts, according to one of the people, who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity to share details of the private get-together. The governor, during the conversation, committed to helping Trump as he faces President Joe Biden in the general election, said the person. It ended with the two shaking hands, said another.
The meeting, which was first reported by The Washington Post, was orchestrated by Florida real estate investor Steve Witkoff, and took place at his Shell Bay Club in Hollywood, Florida.
Witkoff did not immediately respond to a request for comment through his office.
On Monday, Trump said the two had had “a great meeting yesterday” and that he was “very happy to have the full and enthusiastic support of Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida.”
“The conversation mostly concerned how we would work closely together to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. Also discussed was the future of Florida, which is FANTASTIC!” he wrote on his social media site. "I greatly appreciate Ron’s support in taking back our Country from the Worst President in the History of the United States."
DeSantis has a deep network of donors from his runs for governor and president. He amassed an enormous war chest for his White House run, entering the race with $130 million in the bank.
Though he endorsed Trump when he dropped his bid for the GOP nomination in a video after failing to gain traction, DeSantis has yet to campaign or fundraise on Trump's behalf. Instead, he has, at times, needled Trump, including responding to a news story about some Republicans in the Florida legislature wanting to help fund Trump’s legal bills by posting, “But not the Florida Republican who wields the veto pen …”
The GOP primary was marked by a bitter rivalry between the two men, who had once been allies. Trump lambasted DeSantis as disloyal and nicknamed him Ron “DeSanctimonious," while DeSantis suggested Trump would lose again in November and said he'd “lost the zip on his fastball” over the years.
DeSantis’ allies believe the Florida governor has a clear path to another presidential bid should he want one. But that path could be complicated by lingering hostilities in a party that overwhelmingly backs the former president, especially if he wins in November.
Associated Press writer Thomas Beaumont contributed to this report from Des Moines.
FILE - This combination of photos shows Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaking on July 17, 2023, in Arlington, Va., left, and former President Donald Trump speaking in Bedminster, N.J., June 13, 2023. Trump met privately with DeSantis over the weekend, according to two people familiar with the discussion, marking a detente between the former rivals after a brutal primary contest marked by insults and bruised egos. (AP Photo, File)
THE HAGUE (AP) — The United Nations’ top court on Thursday opened two days of hearings into a request from South Africa to press Israel to halt its military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population has sought shelter.
It is the fourth time South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice for emergency measures since the nation launched proceedings alleging that Israel’s military action in its war with Hamas in Gaza amounts to genocide.
“The sitting is open,” said ICJ President Nawaf Salam.
According to the latest request, the previous preliminary orders by The Hague-based court were not sufficient to address “a brutal military attack on the sole remaining refuge for the people of Gaza.”
Israel has portrayed Rafah as the last stronghold of the militant group, brushing off warnings from the United States and other allies that any major operation there would be catastrophic for civilians.
South Africa has asked the court to order Israel to withdraw from Rafah; to take measures to ensure unimpeded access for U.N. officials, humanitarian organizations and journalists to the Gaza Strip; and to report back within one week on how it is meeting these demands.
During hearings earlier this year, Israel strongly denied committing genocide in Gaza and said it does all it can to spare civilians and is only targeting Hamas militants. It says Hamas’ tactic of embedding in civilian areas makes it difficult to avoid civilian casualties.
In January, judges ordered Israel to do all it can to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in Gaza, but the panel stopped short of ordering an end to the military offensive that has laid waste to the Palestinian enclave.
In a second order in March, the court said Israel must take measures to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including opening more land crossings to allow food, water, fuel and other supplies to enter.
Most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people have been displaced since fighting began.
The war began with a Hamas attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which Palestinian militants killed around 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. Gaza’s Health Ministry says over 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, without distinguishing between civilians and combatants in its count.
South Africa initiated proceedings in December 2023 and sees the legal campaign as rooted in issues central to its identity. Its governing party, the African National Congress, has long compared Israel’s policies in Gaza and the occupied West Bank to its own history under the apartheid regime of white minority rule, which restricted most Blacks to “homelands.” Apartheid ended in 1994.
On Sunday, Egypt announced it plans to join the case. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Israeli military actions “constitute a flagrant violation of international law, humanitarian law, and the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 regarding the protection of civilians during wartime.”
Several countries have also indicated they plan to intervene, but so far only Libya, Nicaragua and Colombia have filed formal requests to do so.
Follow AP's coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Palestinians displaced by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip walk through a makeshift tent camp in Rafah, Gaza, Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
The top UN court is holding hearings on the Israeli military's incursion into Rafah
The top UN court is holding hearings on the Israeli military's incursion into Rafah
