A campaign staffer for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump who heads the blackball staff for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who previously worked for the Republican governor.
Justin Caporale, a former Trump White House adviser who helps lead the former president’s advance team, said anyone who staffed a recent DeSantis book tour or previously worked for the governor would be considered “persona non grata,” sources told RealClearPolitics last week.
“It’s a time for choice,” one of the sources said. “If you’re going to work for Ron DeSantis’ presidential race, you’re not going to work for the Trump campaign or the Trump White House.”
The Trump campaign did not dispute the article when reached by Fox News Digital on Sunday.
Former President Donald Trump, left, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (Scott Eisen / File | Spencer Platt / File)
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A quick search for Caporale’s name on the Florida governor’s website shows that he previously worked as director of external affairs for DeSantis’ office.
According to the website for Event Strategies Inc., where Caporale serves as CEO, “she has worked to establish a support network to facilitate community engagement efforts for the Governor, First Lady, and Lt. Governor — including the implementation of the State’s largest Trade Mission. to Israel.”
Politico reported on Caporale’s exit from DeSantis’ office in June 2019, alleging that he had misrepresented several staff members.
“He clashed with some other staff in the office, which became problematic,” a source told the outlet at the time. “He was a pro, but there was tension there.”
President Donald Trump, left, introduces Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at a campaign rally at the BB&T Center on Nov. 26, 2019, in Sunrise, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, and then President Donald Trump (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images/File)
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Caporale did not respond to an inquiry by Fox News Digital that asked why he was allowed into the Trump campaign while other former DeSantis staffers were not.
The blackballing comes amid an intensifying war of words between Trump, who has announced a 2024 presidential campaign, and DeSantis, who has not announced a White House bid but is still widely considered Trump’s primary competition Republican primary.
Aaron Kliegman of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
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