Trump says his relationship with one-time rival DeSantis now a ‘9.9’

They were bitter Republican rivals a year and a half ago, but President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis were all smiles this week, as the two appeared side-by-side for the opening of a new migrant detention center in the Everglades.

“The relationship between the governor and the president is fantastic,” DeSantis communications director Bryan Griffin told Fox News Digital.

Griffin spoke with Fox News Digital the day after Trump and DeSantis, along with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, toured what’s being called “Alligator Alacatraz,” a detention center quickly constructed on a remote airstrip that’s surrounded by alligator-infested swamps.

DeSantis, the two-term conservative governor who unsuccessfully ran against Trump for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, used emergency powers to seize the land and speed construction of the facility, with encouragement from Trump and his administration.

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“Ron worked beautifully with Kristi (Noem) and all of the people at Homeland Security and got it done in how many days, Ron?” Trump said as he turned to the governor while answering reporters’ questions.

“Eight days, a new facility was up and running,” DeSantis responded.

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Following his 2022 gubernatorial re-election landslide, DeSantis moved toward running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and formally launched his White House bid in the spring of 2023.

But even before he announced his candidacy, DeSantis was repeatedly attacked by Trump and his political allies. 

The long-term targeting of the governor proved successful. DeSantis was considered Trump’s top threat among the field of Republican White House hopefuls. But the governor saw his support deteriorate, and he ended his presidential bid in January of last year, after a disappointing second-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, far behind Trump.

DeSantis immediately endorsed Trump, helped raise money for the then-former president’s general election campaign, and gave a well-received speech last summer at the Republican National Convention in Milwuakee, Wisconsin.

Asked about his relationship with DeSantis, Trump told reporters, “I would say it’s a 10. I think it’s a 10,” before adding “maybe 9.9 because, you know, might be a couple of little wounds.”

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DeSantis has been extremely aggressive in assisting Trump in his sweeping immigration crackdown. 

The governor signed stiff immigration measures into law earlier this year, after a compromise with the Republican leaders of the Florida legislature was brokered, which brought to an end a weekslong standoff over dueling bills. 

“This is going to be a force multiplier,” DeSantis told Fox News late last week. “We’re happy to work with the federal government to satisfy President Trump’s mandate.”

And the governor, during his Fox News interview, suggested that the president visit the facility.

“An invitation from me: We can land Air Force One right there no problem,” DeSantis said. “I think the president would be impressed with what the guys are doing out here.”

Trump, at the event, highlighted that “Ron and I have had a really great relationship for a long period of time. We had a little off period for a couple of days, but it didn’t last long.”

The president added that he and the governor have a “lot of respect for each other.”

DeSantis returned the praise, noting that “you can call him [Trump] anytime and he wants to be helpful for governors.”

But some top figures in Trump’s political orbit, including White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, may still hold unflattering opinions of the governor.

Wiles was once a top DeSantis political advisor before a very bitter falling out.

And in a sign of political friction, Trump-ally Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida also attended Tuesday’s event. 

Donalds earlier this year launched a bid to succeed the term-limited DeSantis in Florida’s 2026 gubernatorial election, and he landed Trump’s endorsement even before he announced his candidacy.

DeSantis’ wife, Florida first lady Casey DeSantis, has been mulling a run for governor of her own, and her husband earlier this year said she would be a worthy successor.

Asked by reporters if Casey DeSantis should run for governor, the president would only say “we get along great.”

Ron DeSantis quickly interjected, noting that “I endorsed him immediately, in January 2024. I raised one of his PACs millions and millions of dollars.”