Don Tapia, who served as President Donald Trump’s U.S. ambassador to Jamaica from 2019 to 2021, said he’ll support Ron DeSantis over the ex-U.S. leader if they compete for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024.
Trump’s “name-calling has turned a lot of people off,” the retired electrical company executive told Politico in an article published Tuesday.
“Let me tell you, we don’t like that,” he added.
Tapia reportedly made six-figure contributions to Trump’s campaigns in both 2016 and 2020, when Trump repeatedly called his rivals insulting names.
Tapia later donated $50,000 to DeSantis’ 2022 gubernatorial reelection bid and has hosted fundraisers for the governor, who also has his own history of calling adversaries names.
DeSantis has yet to officially announce a 2024 run. An upcoming three-day Florida retreat for DeSantis will be “overwhelmingly” attended by former Trump backers, said Tapia, who joins a growing list of Republican donors who have distanced themselves from Trump in recent months.
