Donald Trump, who bent the party to his will as president, is intensely focused on batting down anyone who challenge him.
Marta Lavandier/AP Photo

While the super PAC’s early focus has largely been on DeSantis, officials say its research effort has been expanded to include other prospective candidates. And those involved are not ruling out the possibility of airing early ads targeting Trump’s opponents, potentially before the end of March. The super PAC has hired a media buyer and has begun looking into the cost of running commercials in early primary states, according to a person familiar with the group’s activities. It is also expected to set up a “war room” based in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Trump’s campaign has also set up its headquarters in West Palm Beach, near where the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate is located.)

Budowich, who heads the pro-Trump super PAC, did not specify an exact date for when the group would start airing ads. In a statement, he said that “MAGA Inc., through deep opposition research, tested messages, and a significant war chest, is building a GOP primary guillotine that will welcome every challenger with swift and decisive force.”

A DeSantis spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. But on Tuesday, the governor took a rare swing at Trump, arguing that his landslide reelection win this past November in Florida showed that voters approved of his light-touch approach to handling the pandemic.

“The good thing is, is that the people are able to render a judgment on that whether they reelect you or not,” DeSantis told reporters during a press conference when asked about Trump’s recent attacks. “And I’m happy to say — you know in my case — not only did we win reelection, we won with the highest percentage of the vote that any Republican governor candidate has had in the history of the state of Florida. … That verdict has been rendered by the people of the state of Florida.”

With polls showing Trump and DeSantis leading the field in the early-voting states, some people in the former president’s orbit have privately expressed a desire for Trump’s super PAC to begin going after the Florida governor.

The group has substantial resources at its disposal: Fundraising efforts did not begin until 2023, but upon its launch last year, MAGA Inc. was seeded with $55 million, much of it transferred from Trump’s political action committee, Save America. (Super PAC officials downplayed expectations for a campaign finance report due Tuesday evening, which will cover fundraising for the final weeks of 2022.)

Now, the super PAC is looking to build its war chest further, and it is planning to hold its first fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago on Feb. 23. Organizers are describing the event as a “candlelight dinner,” that will be attended by the former president. The super PAC has brought on Meredith O’Rourke, a veteran Republican fundraiser, to oversee its finance efforts and has begun hiring a team of regional fundraisers.

Raising major funds, however, may not prove easy for Trump. Some of Trump’s top donors from 2020, such as hedge fund executive Stephen Schwarzman, have expressed a desire to move on from the former president. Others have also been supportive of DeSantis.

And some big donors appear likely to sit out the 2024 GOP primary entirely. Miriam Adelson, the widow of casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson who has recently dined with Trump and was his biggest financial supporter in 2020, has made clear she has no plans to get involved in the nominating fight.