Trump reunites with DeSantis at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

President Trump traveled to the steaming hot heart of the Everglades for a tour of a newly constructed migrant detention center—and a reunion with one of his fiercest political rivals.

“Ron, I’d like to thank you personally,” Trump told DeSantis at a roundtable event. “You’re my friend, you’ll always be my friend, and we may have some skirmishes even in the future, I doubt it, but we’ll always come back because we have blood that seems to match pretty well,” the president continued. “We have a relationship that has been a strong one for a very long time and I appreciate it.”

Trump also hailed Florida for its role in working with his administration to enforce the president’s robust immigration policy. “I want to express my tremendous thanks to the state of Florida for embracing this opportunity and being a true partner,” he said. “They’ve worked so well with the federal government. It’s been just a beautiful, beautiful partnership.” 

The site, located in the swampy Florida Everglades, includes soft-sided holding units for hundreds of detainees through a partnership in which the federal government will provide the funding.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management has overseen its build-out and management. Additional holding units will be added through next month, under the agreement.

DeSantis offered his own compliments for Trump, pointing to the U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites last month. “As somebody who was serving on active duty in Iraq back in the day, we witnessed the number of our troops that were killed or wounded by the Iranians,” the governor said. “We know that they are a militant, Islamic regime that was hellbent on getting nuclear weapons and under Joe Biden, they were about to get nuclear weapons.” 

The camaraderie between the two leaders is a sea change from the 2024 Republican presidential primary, when Trump and DeSantis famously sparred for the GOP nomination. 

Does this mean that DeSantis will be back in MAGA’s good graces? One could argue that except for a very specific time in the 2024 GOP primaries, DeSantis never left Trump and his supporter’s favor.

And while not likely, a DeSantis 2028 nomination is not dead in the water, like it was in the immediate aftermath of the contentious 2024 Republican race.