Florida Republican gubernatorial nominee Representative Byron Donalds has removed multiple prominent references to President Donald Trump from his campaign website, including a key endorsement banner and a photo with the president. The shift comes as Trump's national approval rating plummets to record lows between 36% and 38%, driven by voter frustration over the Iran war and inflation. Donalds joins a broader trend of GOP candidates in competitive races distancing themselves from Trump's brand to appeal to general election voters, even as campaign spokespersons maintain they still welcome Trump's endorsement.
Changes to Byron Donalds' campaign website
- ▪U.S. Representative Byron Donalds removed multiple references to President Donald Trump from his Florida gubernatorial campaign website, including a prominent endorsement banner and a photo of Donalds and his wife Erika with Trump
- ▪The Miami Herald reported that a total of eight Trump references were removed from Byron Donalds' campaign website, according to data from website tracker Visualping
- ▪Byron Donalds' campaign website replaced the priority "Enact the Trump Agenda" with "Affordability" at the top of his list of priorities
Candidates for Florida governor
- ▪Byron Donalds aims to replace term-limited Governor Ron DeSantis and become the first Black governor of Florida
- ▪Republican nominee Byron Donalds is facing Democratic candidate David Jolly, a former Representative who left the Republican Party in 2018, in the race for Florida governor
Florida gubernatorial race
- ▪A Democrat has not won the Florida governor's seat in nearly three decades
- ▪Election forecaster Sabato's Crystal Ball shifted its rating of the Florida gubernatorial race from "likely Republican" to "leans Republican," citing close polling and potential voter exhaustion with long-term Republican leadership
President Trump's declining approval ratings
- ▪President Donald Trump's average approval rating stood at approximately 36% according to the CNN Poll of Polls tracking national surveys around September 22, 2026
- ▪President Donald Trump's average approval rating fell to 38% in Nate Silver's Silver Bulletin poll tracker as of September 22, 2026, reaching an all-time low net approval rating of -21.5
- ▪A CNN/SSRS poll found that only 26% of Americans approved of President Donald Trump's handling of the geopolitical situation in Iran
Republican candidates distancing from President Trump
- ▪Republican congressional candidates in battleground races, including Representative Andy Barr of Kentucky, removed prominent photos, slogans, or references to President Donald Trump from their campaign websites
- ▪Multiple Republican candidates, including Mike Bouchard in Michigan, Joe Mitchell in Iowa, Carlos De La Cruz in Texas, and Young Kim and James Gallagher in California, reduced or removed Trump branding from their websites
- ▪Representative María Elvira Salazar of Florida released a campaign advertisement stating that President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown had "gone too far."
Debatable claims
- ▪Florida is no longer a reliably Republican state
- ▪Byron Donalds should distance himself from Donald Trump to win the Florida governorship
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