President Trump praised former major rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) during his visit to the state’s new immigration detention facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz” on Tuesday.
“Ron, I would like to thank you personally,” Trump told DeSantis at a roundtable event.
“You’re my friend, you’re always my friend, and we may have some skirmishes in the future, but I doubt that, but we have blood that seems to match pretty well, so we’ll always be back,” the president continued. “We’ve had a strong relationship for a very long time and I’m grateful for that.”
Trump also welcomed Florida for his role in working with his administration to implement the president’s robust immigration policy.
“I would like to thank Florida for accepting this opportunity and for being a true partner,” he said. “They have worked very well with the federal government. It was just a beautiful, beautiful partnership.”
The site, located in the Wetlands Florida Everglades, includes softside holding units for hundreds of detainees through federally funded partnerships. The Florida Emergency Management Department oversees its construction and management. Additional holding units will be added under the contract until next month.
The facility is expected to cost around $450 million a year. This comes from the Federal Emergency Management Agency Shelter and Services Program, which was used to house asylum seekers during the Biden administration.
DeSantis also offered Trump his own tribute, pointing out US strikes at three Iranian nuclear sites last month.
“As someone who was active in Iraq at the time, I witnessed the number of troops killed or wounded by Iranians,” the governor said. “We know that under Joe Biden, they were a militant Islamic regime that was bothered by the acquisition of nuclear weapons, and that they were trying to get nuclear weapons.”
“Because of your strong actions, those dreams and those ambitions have been reduced to Kura Rub,” he added, calling the president’s decision to hit Iran “tough but strong.”
The friendship between the two leaders is a sea change since the 2024 Republican presidential primary, when Trump and DeSantis remained modestly nominated for the GOP.
DeSantis later dropped out and supported Trump. The governor has since worked to partner with the White House on crackdowns on illegal immigration. Earlier this year, Governor Sunshine called for a special state legislative meeting to implement the President’s immigration agenda.
The move has led to backlash from Republican members of the Florida State Legislature. He argued that DeSantis had no authority to hold special sessions.
However, Tuesday’s event brought together many of his political critics, including DeSantis’ allies and state legislator Daniel Perez (R), state Sen. Joe Gluters (R), agricultural commissioner Wilton Simpson (R), and Rep. Byron Donald (R-FLA).
DeSantis is limited and cannot seek third consecutive term, but his wife, Florida first lady Casey DeSantis, is floating as a potential candidate.
