Trump trades the courtroom for RNC retreat in Florida
(CNN) — Former President Donald Trump is trading the New York courtroom for Florida banquet halls this weekend, where he'll mingle with his vice presidential contenders and wealthy donors during the Republican National Committee's spring retreat.
The former president will be the main attraction at a fundraiser luncheon hosted at his Mar-a-Lago club on Saturday, where Trump will court his deep-pocketed supporters as he attempts to catch up to the Biden campaign's ever-growing war chest.
Top GOP donors and high-profile party leaders first gathered at the Four Seasons on Friday, for a welcome reception with Trump's daughter-in-law and RNC co-chair Lara Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson and House GOP conference chair Elise Stefanik, according to sources familiar with the weekend itinerary.
While the annual weekend retreat typically serves as a meeting place for the GOP elite, this year's special guests include a series of Republicans on Trump's VP shortlist, including Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds and Stefanik.
Other notable guests include Florida Sen. Rick Scott, Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt, Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dave McCormick and Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem — who has spent the last week attempting to do damage control regarding a recently published excerpt from her upcoming book, in which she detailed how she shot and killed her dog, Cricket — will also attend.
It's unclear whether the former president will use the weekend to host one-on-one meetings with any of his VP contenders. However, the retreat serves as a welcome opportunity for his potential picks to brush shoulders with Trump at Mar-a-Lago as he continues to mull his decision.
Trump is not expected to announce his running mate anytime soon, his senior advisers tell CNN, with his VP shortlist remaining long and in flux, despite his team having already begun the vetting process. He plans to make his official decision public closer to the Republican National Convention in July.
"We'll be making that decision, I think, closer to Wisconsin time," Trump told a Fox affiliate in Wisconsin on Wednesday. "It's very early right now."
On Sunday, Trump is planning to attend the Miami Grand Prix.
Originally, he was slated to attend a fundraiser at the event, hosted by his longtime friend and luxury real estate broker Steve Witkoff. However, the Grand Prix sent a cease-and-desist letter to Witkoff late last month, that he could not use a suite at the Formula One race as the setting for a fundraiser.
The Washington Post first reported on the letter.
Johnson shows off relationship with Trump
Johnson's attendance at the RNC retreat this weekend is also notable, and will serve as yet another opportunity for him to showcase his relationship with Trump ahead of a critical vote to strip him of his speaker's gavel.
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced on Wednesday that she plans to force a vote on Johnson's ouster when members return to the Capitol next week, a move that comes after Democrats have said they will vote to kill the effort and ensure Johnson doesn't lose his job.
Trump, who has yet to publicly weigh in on the intra-party feuding, has been annoyed by the saga, telling his advisers and others in his inner circle that he views it as a distraction that is hurting the party's image at a time when he wants the full focus, and force, of the GOP behind him, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the comments.
Some of his quiet annoyance was on display this week, when Trump tapped newly elected RNC chairman Michael Whatley to travel to Capitol Hill to convey to the House Republican conference that he has no interest in a divided party, sources familiar with Whatley's comments said.
Whatley, acting as Trump's emissary, also met separately with Greene, and privately signaled to her to cease the drama, one of the sources said.
Johnson has previously used his relationship with Trump in an effort to show solidarity amid threats to his job. Last month, he flew to Mar-a-Lago for a news conference, which his team arranged, alongside the former president, during which Trump praised Johnson and acknowledged the difficulty he was facing in Congress.
"We're getting along very well with the speaker, and I get along very well with Marjorie. We have a speaker who was voted in, and it was a complicated process. And I think very, it's not, not an easy situation for any speaker," Trump told reporters at the time.
CNN's Melanie Zanona contributed to this report.
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