A CEO Gave Some Lavish Gifts to Ron DeSantis, But It's Probably Not a Big Deal

• The Washington Post uncovered lavish gifts given by a powerful CEO to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

• One such gift was a golf simulator installed in the governor's cabana, which costs a minimum of $27,500.

• DeSantis and his wife also borrowed the CEO's private plane at least 12 times.

Most experts agree that Ron DeSantis established himself one of the frontrunners for the 2024 Republican nomination early on in the current election cycle. Of course, had his team consulted any of those experts, they probably would have told him that being a frontrunner early in an election cycle is practically a political death sentence.

Hey, Ron: Haven't you ever heard of Herman Cain? Gary Hart? Ed Muskie? As an early frontrunner, you're not only painting a target on your back, but you're also giving any potential opponents—and press—every chance to search for dirt on you. So if you've got any skeletons in your closet that might have gone unnoticed in a smaller political position, remember that they'll be in the spotlight the minute you step onto the national stage. And even if you don't have skeletons in your closet, one weird Howard Dean scream is all you need to be sent packing.

So what's the latest scuttlebutt on DeSantis that might hurt his presidential chances? Since we as a nation have started to remember that gifts given by influential businesspeople to political figures who later give them favorable treatment can sometimes be considered bribes, naturally, folks are looking into the gifts accepted by DeSantis during his time as Governor of Florida.

The Washington Post recently reported that DeSantis accepted some brow-raising gifts from Mori Hosseini, the CEO of ICI Homes, one of Florida's largest residential developers, and the chair of the University of Florida's board of trustees.

A 2019 letter revealed that Hosseini gifted DeSantis an AboutGolf golfing simulator "to be possessed on loan at the Governor's Mansion for an undisclosed term." Specifically, the simulator was installed in what's described as the "Governor's Cabana," which may be the most Florida-sounding thing to avoid involving an alligator. The Daily Beast notes that this brand of golf simulator "starts at $27,500, but can run up to $69,500 for ones with curved screens."

Of course, if a gifted golf simulator that costs at minimum $27,500 from a powerful business figure doesn't at least elicit one raised eyebrow from you, let's also note that DeSantis and his wife reportedly "borrowed Hosseini's private plane at least 12 times, once as recently as February."

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