DeSantis megadonors revolt in private chat, saying if they wanted a MAGA candidate they 'would donate to Donald Trump', report says

• A group of wealthy Gov. Ron DeSantis donors criticized him in a private chat.
• Rolling Stone obtained screenshots of the group chat between the GOP megadonors.

A group of wealthy Gov. Ron DeSantis donors raged together in a private chat about the Florida governor's presidential prospects.

This is the latest indication that the Florida governor's wealthy supporters are starting to revolt, with a GOP megadonor recently going public about no longer wanting to financially support his yet-to-be-announced campaign.

Rolling Stone gained access to screenshots of a group chat between several DeSantis donors, some of whom it said had given large sums to the governor.

The screenshots reveal them questioning the governor's chances of beating former President Donald Trump in a Republican primary.

The images were provided to Rolling Stone on the condition that the donors' identities, which were verified by the media outlet, remained anonymous.

A series of recent political missteps, including continuing with his out-of-state publicity tour while massive flooding took place in Fort Lauderdale, appear to have enraged these donors, Rolling Stone reported.

Responding to the Fort Lauderdale incident, the media outlet said that one donor wrote: "What the fuck is wrong with RD?"

Another donor asked who in the group could reach DeSantis the quickest to complain about it, Rolling Stone said.

Several other donors were also furious that the governor referred to Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a "territorial dispute," with one calling on DeSantis to walk back the comment, the news outlet reported.

DeSantis did later go back on the comment after receiving criticism from fellow Republicans.

According to a Rolling Stone source familiar with the communications, the donor who called for the walk-back wrote a livid response. The source said: "My understanding is that the message was: 'If we wanted a fucking MAGA candidate, we would donate to Donald Trump.'"

Other donors wrote that they wanted DeSantis to hit back harder at Trump, with one describing him as a "damn wimp," per Rolling Stone.

Four sources told the media outlet on the condition of anonymity that there is a growing sense of unease in DeSantis' megadonor base.

DeSantis' deputy press secretary, Jeremy T. Redfern, said in an email to Insider: "Political topics are outside the purview of this office, and Rolling Stone is outside the purview of reality."

Redfern redirected Insider to DeSantis' political team who did not immediately respond to our request for comment.

Earlier this week, a mega-wealthy GOP donor in Florida who initially wanted to back DeSantis said he had changed his mind about giving money to the governor's campaign should he run for president.

Thomas Peterffy told the Financial Times that DeSantis' "stance on abortion and book banning" meant that he and "his friends" are no longer planning to give their financial support to the Republican governor.

Peterffy also said he believed that DeSantis had lost "momentum."

DeSantis has not yet announced a 2024 run for president, but he has continued to tease that he might.

According to the FiveThirtyEight national polling average for the 2024 GOP presidential primary, DeSantis is Trump's biggest contender in the race. However, DeSantis is still trailing behind the former president by 23%.