Ron DeSantis spent two years and tens of millions of dollars trying to take Donald Trump's job.
Now he's asking Trump for a job.
And Trump just told the whole world he's thinking about saying yes.
From "DeSanctimonious" to "I Like Him a Lot"
This is one of the most remarkable political reversals in modern Republican history.
Trump branded DeSantis "Ron DeSanctimonious" and declared his Florida record "a mirage."
DeSantis ran a primary campaign, placed a distant second in Iowa, and slunk off the stage in defeat.
Then he did the only thing that could save his political career: he buried the hatchet, endorsed Trump, and got to work.
Since Trump began his second term, DeSantis has delivered results, not just words.
He stood beside Trump at the opening of Alligator Alcatraz – the Everglades detention facility for illegal immigrants – as Trump declared him "a 10 out of 10, maybe 9.9."
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He signed laws renaming State Road 80 as the President Donald J. Trump Highway and renamed Palm Beach International Airport after the president.
And last week, he drove a redistricting map through the Florida legislature that could flip four House seats from Democrat to Republican – a direct boost to Trump's grip on Congress heading into the midterms.
That's not lip service.
That's loyalty made concrete.
What DeSantis Actually Wants
Think about what happened at that April lunch at Trump National Doral.
According to Axios, Trump told confidants exactly how it went: "Ron was begging me to be AG."
Begging.
Now Trump's own inner circle is making clear that's not happening – and the reason they give tells you everything about how far trust still has to travel.
"There's a way-too-high chance he would try to f*** the president over," one Trump adviser told Axios bluntly.
That's not subtle skepticism from a cautious staffer.
That's a senior Trump adviser saying out loud that DeSantis can't be handed the keys to the Justice Department because he might use them against the president.
Sources close to DeSantis say the AG talk is a distraction anyway.
"DeSantis is 100% not interested in the AG job," one source told Axios. "But he would be interested in two things: War secretary or Supreme Court, which would be his dream job."
And that Supreme Court angle is where this gets genuinely fascinating.
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DeSantis has what sources describe as an almost father-son relationship with Justice Clarence Thomas – publicly citing him for years as his model for constitutional interpretation.
One source told Axios a DeSantis nomination to the Court would be "a hell of a legacy for Trump."
Trump has heard that pitch.
The Math Is Simple
DeSantis is term-limited.
He leaves the Florida governor's mansion in January 2027 with nowhere to go in elected office.
His options are: join the Trump administration, run for Senate, position for a 2028 presidential bid – or fade into political irrelevance while someone younger takes his lane.
None of those options beats a Supreme Court seat.
Federal judges serve for life.
A DeSantis appointment to the Court would park America's most ambitious conservative governor on the most powerful court in the world for the next three decades.
It would also defuse the one Republican who could credibly challenge Trump's chosen successor in 2028 – without exiling him or humiliating him.
The redistricting play DeSantis just executed makes this more likely, not less.
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He just handed Republicans a potential four-seat advantage in Florida's House delegation – flipping the map from 20-8 to 24-4 Republican – at the exact moment Trump needs every seat he can get to protect the House majority through the midterms.
That's the kind of move that makes a president pick up the phone.
Trump confirmed Friday that DeSantis is very much on his radar.
"Well, I like him a lot," Trump told reporters outside the White House.
Simple words.
Enormous implications.
The man Trump once called a "RINO GLOBALIST" is now being publicly floated for one of the most consequential appointments a president can make.
Sources:
- Michael Katz, "Trump Praises DeSantis, Eyes Future Cabinet Role," Newsmax, May 1, 2026.
- "Scoop: DeSantis 'Begging' Trump for Prime Role in Administration," Axios, April 21, 2026.
- "Florida Lawmakers Approve Redistricting Plan Intended to Give GOP Four More Seats," NPR, April 29, 2026.
- "Trump Says He Would Consider Ron DeSantis for a Cabinet Post Next Year," Conservative Institute, May 1, 2026.
