Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had a busy weekend during a gathering of his supporters in Palm Beach, Florida. That gathering included a bevy of longtime backers of former President Donald Trump, according to Politico.

DeSantis was hosting a three-day retreat at the Four Seasons Hotel — a mere four miles away from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. The event kicked off on Friday evening with a cocktail reception and dinner. Attended by about 150 people, the event, billed as the celebration of the “Florida blueprint,” foreshadows a likely DeSantis announcement that he is, indeed, running for President in 2024, which would of course, mean a face-off between him and Trump.

But the good news for DeSantis is that he quite obviously appeals to high-level GOP officials who aligned themselves with Trump in the past.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), is one of many Trump-backers who was spotted during the opening night of the conference. He participated Friday night in a panel discussion DeSantis moderated on the “medical establishment.” Johnson has long been an ardent supporter of Trump, even to the point of attempting to arrange a list of fake electors backing Trump to hand over to then-Vice President Mike Pence.

A spokesperson for Johnson noted, however, that the senator doesn’t plan to endorse anyone during the Republican primary.

“Sen. Johnson historically does not endorse in primaries and plans to continue this trend and remain impartial in 2024,” said Johnson spokesperson Corinne Day.

Arizona Republican Jim Lamon was also on hand. Lamon, a solar energy executive is another Trump backer who closely aligned himself with the former president in his failed 2022 bid for the Senate. He was also involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 election results that showed Joe Biden defeated Trump. And Lamon was among 11 Republican electors who signed a document claiming (falsely) to be Arizona’s legitimate electors. That document was mailed to the Senate and the National Archives.

Other notable GOPers on hand included Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, who bailed on a 2024 presidential campaign after assembling the groundwork for it, and Mick Mulvaney, who served as Trump’s acting White House Chief of Staff. Mulvaney abdicated the Trump White House following the January 6 2021 attack on the Capitol. Mulvaney has harshly criticized Trump for deciding to run again 2024, saying Trump is “the only Republican who could lose” the election.

The event also included a number of DeSantis’s fellow governors, including Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, who benefited last year during his reelection bid from a fundraiser hosted by Trump, and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, whom Trump also backed in 2022.

“Gov. Stitt believes Ron DeSantis has done an excellent job leading as Florida governor, especially through COVID, supporting law enforcement, reforming education, and supporting parental rights,” said Stitt spokesperson Carly Atchison.

I’m going to add a few small points here: DeSantis was at one point fittingly nicknamed “DeathSantis,” thanks to the comedy duo The Good Liars.

“It almost seems like [Gov. RonDeSantis] is in the pocket of Big COVID, like he’s doing things on behalf of the virus to let the virus flourish in Florida,” Jason Selvig, who’s half of the comedy duo in an interview with Newsweek.

“Ron DeathSantis” Can we make this nickname stick? pic.twitter.com/OoZA4SDeWX

— The Good Liars (@TheGoodLiars) July 12, 2020

Newsweek noted at the time (July 21, 2020):

“Florida is now being named the worldwide epicenter of the disease, reporting a total of 360,394 cases as of July 21. The state has seen a sharp increase in reported cases since mid-June, but DeSantis has maintained he will not issue a statewide mask order or reverse plans to reopen the economy.”

Yeah, he sure did a bang-up job with COVID, didn’t he? No wonder Stitt is so fond of him.

As far as “reforming education,” he wants to prevent the teaching of Critical Race Theory in classrooms. As for “parental rights,” DeSantis signed the controversial “Parental Rights In Education Bill” which became known as the “Don’t Say Gay Bill,” which prevents classroom discussion or instruction on sexual orientation and identity” from kindergarten to third grade. For later grades, this can’t be taught in “a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate.”

Undoubtedly many Trump-backers are flocking to DeSantis because he’s a newer face. And because he isn’t Trump.

He’s worse than Trump. He’s Trump on steroids.