President Trump on Saturday lashed out at the press over reports that Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds had quietly removed several references to Trump's endorsement from his campaign website. In a post on Truth Social, the president dismissed the coverage as “Another Fake Story,” pointing to his electoral record in Florida across three presidential runs.
“If Florida thought the story that Byron ‘dropped’ me was true, he would lose the Election, and that would be a terrible thing because he’s going to be a fantastic Governor!” Trump wrote, attaching a screenshot of Donalds's response to the reports.
The controversy began when Donalds's campaign removed a banner that read “chip in to support Trump Endorsed Byron Donalds” from the top of his website. The homepage now opens with the slogan “Fighting to defend the Florida dream,” though Trump's endorsement still appears in a rotating list of backers lower on the page.
In his response, Donalds said he was “proud to have” Trump's endorsement and shared a photo of the two together behind the Resolute Desk. The move comes as several Republican candidates in competitive races try to carve out some distance from the administration amid public frustration over rising living costs and the ongoing U.S. military operations against Iran. Those pressures have contributed to Trump's sliding approval numbers and growing GOP anxiety about the midterms.
Trump's Saturday post also took aim at the “Fake News Media” more broadly, following his decision to bar several outlets from White House grounds. He wrote that those organizations “should really be called out by the Courts, and should not be allowed to enter the White House premises, or Press Room, because they are CORRUPT and DISHONEST!”
This week, the administration revoked press credentials for reporters from MS NOW, CNN, and Politico, citing their “constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS.” A federal judge later ordered the White House to restore access, ruling the ban likely violated the First Amendment. The legal setback echoes broader judicial skepticism toward the administration's national security justifications. On Friday night, Trump barred CNN from traveling on Air Force One for his trip to Tennessee.
The Donalds episode underscores a tricky dynamic for Republicans in swing states: they want Trump's base energized, but they also need to appeal to moderate voters who may be turned off by the administration's controversies. As the White House pushes pro-Trump advertising ahead of the midterms, candidates like Donalds are walking a tightrope between loyalty and electoral pragmatism.
Trump's insistence that Donalds's campaign would suffer if voters believed the story suggests he sees the endorsement as a key asset. Yet the website changes, however minor, feed a narrative that some Republicans are quietly hedging their bets. With control of Congress on the line, every signal matters.
