Even Ron DeSantis' megadonor fanboy is having second thoughts about him as president: report

Few Republican megadonors have shown stronger commitment to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) than billionaire hedge fund executive Ken Griffin. He moved the headquarters of his firm, Citadel, from Chicago to Miami last year, and committed millions of dollars to DeSantis' re-election campaign.

But, according to The New York Times, even Griffin is now unclear whether he wants to support DeSantis for president.

"The financier and Mr. DeSantis met in Florida in the last two weeks, according to two people with knowledge of the meeting, which came as Mr. Griffin has taken issue in private conversations with some of Mr. DeSantis’s policy moves and pronouncements," the report said.

"In particular, the two people said, Mr. Griffin was deeply troubled by Mr. DeSantis’s statements that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a 'territorial dispute' — a remark he later tried to clarify — and that the war was not a vital U.S. interest.

"Mr. Griffin, who has made clear that he wants to move on from former President Donald J. Trump, was also disconcerted by a six-week abortion ban in Florida that Mr. DeSantis recently signed, according to the people familiar with Mr. Griffin’s thinking, who insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations."

The meeting was one-on-one, with staff members excluded, the report said.

"One person predicted the financier was still likely to donate to Mr. DeSantis once he made his candidacy official, which could happen as early as next month. But the person said Mr. Griffin might also give to other candidates who seemed able to defeat Mr. Trump."

This comes as DeSantis, who has not yet formally announced a campaign for 2024 but has laid the groundwork to do so, has faced a number of other setbacks, including tumbling in primary polls against former President Donald Trump, and Trump securing endorsements from a number of Republican lawmakers in Florida. Some current and former GOP lawmakers have said DeSantis lacks the necessary people skills to secure that backing himself.

Trump and his allies have taken the threat of DeSantis seriously as he seeks re-nomination for the White House, with super pacs coming out with ads attacking the governor over his previous support for cutting Social Security and Medicare, and Trump's campaign knocking him over his feud with Disney.