What Primary? DeSantis Delivers Rousing Trump Endorsement, Invokes 'Weekend at Bernie's'

MILWAUKEE, WI—With a years-long bitter battle between conservative giants Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis in the rearview mirror, the Florida Governor lit up day two of the Republican National Convention Tuesday night—excoriating President Biden while handing a resounding endorsement to Trump.

"Donald Trump stands in their way and he stands up for America,” DeSantis said. “He’s been sued, he’s been prosecuted, and he nearly lost his life. We cannot let him down, and we cannot let America down...Let’s make the 45th President of the United States the 47th President of the United States.”

DeSantis delivered his primetime RNC speech directly after his former primary rival, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who entered the stage to a smattering of "boos" until she praised the former President. DeSantis promptly attacked Biden as a "tool" and "figurehead" for leftist ideologies, before comparing him to the 1989 comedy "Weekend at Bernie's", in which two friends drag their dead employer around town, pretending he's alive.

"Our enemies do not confine their designs to between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. We need a commander-in-chief who can lead 24 hours a day, and seven days a week," he said. "Our country can’t afford four more years of a Weekend at Bernie’s presidency.”

“Let’s send Joe Biden back to his basement and let’s send Donald Trump back to the White House,” added DeSantis as the crowd cheered.

The Florida Governor wasn't always buddy-buddy with Trump, the soon-to-be Republican nominee. While relations were good during DeSantis' first run for Governor in 2018 (Trump endorsed him) and continued to be so during the pandemic (they held a joint press conference at the White House), DeSantis began to emerge as a real possibility for the 2024 presidential election.

Trump, who wanted the gig for himself, noticed.

After a series of press hits in 2021 and 2022 in which Trump claimed credit for DeSantis' fame, during the 2022 midterms Trump debuted the nickname "Ron DeSanctimonious." A few months later, he amplified a baseless rumor on Truth Social that DeSantis had groomed underage students during his tenure as a Georgia teacher.

The relationship took an even bigger hit when DeSantis announced his presidential candidacy in May, which caused Trump to call the Governor "disloyal" and insist he seek out a "personality transplant." DeSantis called Trump's comments "petty" and "juvenile" before blasting the former President's handling of COVID lockdowns.

The two continued to trade insults—with DeSantis stomping on Trump's claims of a 2020 stolen election—until DeSantis dropped out of the race in late January and endorsed Trump, the presumed nominee. Tensions lessened, though it wasn't until the July convention that DeSantis seemed to fully "kiss the ring" with resounding fervor.