Trump Decries Removal of His Endorsement from Florida Gubernatorial Candidate Byron Donalds

In a lengthy post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump rejected reports that Florida GOP gubernatorial hopeful Byron Donalds had stripped references to the former president from his campaign website. He offered no explanation for the website changes and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Daily Beast

Byron Donalds, a sitting congressman from Florida’s 19th district, updated his campaign site to remove at least eight Trump endorsements and related photographs. The changes were evident in before-and-after screenshots posted by observers. A community note on the platform highlighted the removal of the references and noted that Donalds did not mention Trump during his primary-victory speech in Orlando, instead praising other Republican leaders.

Daily Beast

Trump’s post framed the website revision as a baseless attack intended to halt his “ever upward momentum.” Donalds’ brief statement emphasized gratitude for the endorsement while avoiding any discussion of the website edits, focusing instead on his platform for Floridians. No additional comments from the Trump campaign or Donalds’ team were provided in the source material.

Daily Beast

• “Two Rallies are already scheduled in Florida for Byron and, will be, as always, ‘SOLD OUT!’ This was a Fake Story, with no sources, and the only justification for it is they want to stop my ever upward momentum,” — Donald Trump, president

Daily Beast

The episode reflects a broader trend of Republican candidates distancing themselves from Trump as polling indicates waning enthusiasm for the former president among the general electorate. Analysts cited in the source note that Republicans across the country have been quietly removing Trump’s image and endorsement from campaign materials, suggesting a strategic shift to appeal to a wider voter base ahead of the midterm elections.

Daily Beast