Don Tapia formerly served as the U.S. ambassador to Jamaica under President Donald Trump from 2019 to 2021. Tapia recently announced that he will support Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over former President Donald Trump if they compete for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 – citing Trump’s name-calling as a turn-off for many people.

Don Tapia, a retired electrical company executive who served as former President Donald Trump’s U.S. ambassador to Jamaica from 2019 to 2021, has recently announced that he will back Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race. He stated that Trump’s use of name-calling has turned off many people.

In an exclusive Politico article published Tuesday, Tapia said:

“Name-calling has turned a lot of people off… let me tell you, we don’t like that.”

Despite Tapia’s significant contributions to Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns, he has donated $50,000 to DeSantis’ 2022 gubernatorial reelection bid and has hosted fundraisers for the governor.

While DeSantis has yet to officially announce his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election, Tapia says that an upcoming three-day Florida retreat for the governor will be attended by many former Trump backers.