Trump Rejects Distancing Reports After Donalds Alters Website

In a Truth Social post, Trump called the coverage a “Fake Story” and reaffirmed his “Complete and Total Endorsement” of Donalds. He also said two rallies were scheduled in Florida but provided no dates or locations.

The reports followed documented changes to Donalds’ campaign website. Website-monitoring records cited by The Guardian showed that at least eight references to Trump were removed from the homepage.

An earlier version of the homepage prominently described Donalds as “Trump-Endorsed,” displayed a photograph of Donalds and his wife with Trump and featured additional material promoting the president’s support. The campaign also removed “Enact the Trump Agenda” as the leading item on its issues page.

Trump’s endorsement remains on a scrolling list of endorsements from conservative figures. The revised site also mentions Donalds’ role as a Trump campaign surrogate in 2024, but the president’s name appears less frequently, according to CBS News.

Donalds responded Tuesday on X, writing, “I am proud to have President Trump’s endorsement.” He urged people focused on the website to review his affordability proposals and accused Democratic nominee David Jolly of having “ZERO substance.”

Speaking Wednesday at the Sunshine Economy Summit in Fort Lauderdale, Donalds said his campaign had been working on the website changes for about two months. He said the redesign was intended to emphasize policy themes, including affordability, before the general election.

Donalds rejected the suggestion that the changes meant he no longer supported Trump’s agenda. He described the president’s policies as focused on law and order, markets, border security and cooperation between Florida and the federal government on immigration.

The campaign said in a statement that the website reflects Donalds’ focus on affordability, insurance costs and government transparency. It also said he remained proud of Trump’s endorsement.

In his post, Trump blamed USA Today for starting the story and said it spread to CNN, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Newsweek, The New York Times, ABC, NBC and Forbes. He asserted that the coverage had “no sources.”

Published reports, however, cited archived versions of the campaign website and changes recorded by the monitoring service Visualping. Whether those changes represented an attempt to distance Donalds from Trump was an interpretation disputed by Donalds and his campaign.

Trump also argued that news organizations he considered corrupt should be denied access to the White House grounds and press room. He urged courts to allow action against what he described as dishonest political reporting.

The president claimed he is more popular in Florida now than during the last election and that Donalds is leading Jolly. Trump’s post did not cite polling to support either assertion. He also wrote that Donalds would lose the election if Florida voters believed he had dropped the president.

Trump endorsed Donalds in February 2025, shortly before Donalds formally entered the governor’s race. The endorsement helped Donalds consolidate Republican support during the primary campaign.

Donalds won the Republican nomination in August and will face Jolly, a former Republican congressman, in the Nov. 3 election. The candidates are seeking to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.