Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s three-day event in Palm Beach, Florida, was a who’s who of longtime former President Donald Trump backers.
DeSantis held the event at the Four Seasons hotel, a mere four miles from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. The event kicked off with a cocktail reception on Friday (February 24) evening, with 150 guests in attendance.
The soiree, a celebration of DeSantis’s so-called “Florida blueprint,” is likely a signal that a DeSantis Presidential bid is imminent that would pit him against the former President.
The guest list is also indicative of DeSantis’s attempts to appeal to major figures in the GOP, who shared their alignment with Trump.
Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson was at the opening night, participating in a panel about the “medical establishment,” which DeSantis moderated.
Johnson is also considered a staunch Trump ally, given his attempts to arrange a list of fake electors to back Trump to be given to then-Vice President Mike Pence.
Yet a spokesperson for Johnson explained that the Wisconsin Senator typically doesn’t endorse in the primary and added that he intended to continue his history of remaining impartial.
Others seen at the event included prominent Arizona Republican and solar energy executive Jim Lamon, a regular donor of the former President and was part of efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Lamon was one of eleven alternative GOP electors that signed a document, mailing it to the National Archive and the Senate, claiming to be Arizona’s legitimate electors.
Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark) was also one of the guests and was set to be Trump’s pick for CIA director.
