Florida Republican gubernatorial nominee Byron Donalds removed multiple prominent references to US President Donald Trump from his campaign website, according to reporting published by the Guardian on 22 September.
The changes were reported as Donalds prepares for the November midterm election, in which he is the Republican nominee for governor of Florida.
Trump references removed
The updated campaign website reported by the Guardian removed several prominent references to Trump, including a photograph of Donalds and his wife, Erika, with the president. Earlier versions of the site described Donalds as a “Trump-endorsed proven conservative fighter” and promoted fundraising around Trump’s endorsement.
A previous version of Donalds’ issues page also listed “Enact the Trump agenda” as its top priority. That wording was replaced by “affordability”, according to archived versions of the campaign website cited in the reporting.
The Guardian reported that website-tracking service Visualping recorded multiple changes, including the removal of at least eight mentions of Trump from the homepage.
Campaign says focus is on Florida issues
Donalds’ campaign said the website changes reflect a focus on issues including affordability, insurance costs and government transparency. The campaign also said Donalds remains proud of Trump’s endorsement.
At the time of the reported changes, a reference to Trump remained within a rotating list of endorsements that also included other conservative figures.
Donalds won the Republican nomination for the Florida governor’s race in August. He has represented south-west Florida in Congress since 2021.
Website currently features Trump endorsement
The campaign’s official website currently displays Trump’s endorsement prominently, describing Donalds as “Trump-endorsed” and featuring a section for the president’s endorsement. This reflects the website’s current presentation and does not change the Guardian’s report about the alterations observed on 22 September.
Wider Republican campaign changes
The website changes came days after Republican congresswoman María Elvira Salazar publicly criticised aspects of the Trump administration’s immigration-enforcement policy.
The developments are part of a broader pattern reported by US political media in which some Republican candidates have adjusted how closely their campaigns publicly associate themselves with Trump ahead of the November elections.
For background on Trump’s recent international remarks, Australia By Aussie previously reported on his United Nations speech and his calls for economic isolation of Iran in its earlier report.
Sources: The Guardian and Byron Donalds for Governor.
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