Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to speak at the Republican National Convention next week, and Citizens insurance plans to increase rates.

DeSantis expected to speak at Republican National Convention, source says

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is now planning to address former President Donald Trump's nominating convention next week, an apparent reversal from just one day earlier when he was not expected to give a speech.

DeSantis' speaking role at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee was confirmed Wednesday by a person familiar with the schedule — which has not yet been released.

Once allies turned rivals during this year's Republican primary, Trump and DeSantis have tried to achieve a détente that benefits both of them. But there are lingering tensions between their camps — and long memories in Trump's orbit about the hazards of elevating a former primary opponent to the convention stage.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who ran against Trump in a similarly bitter GOP race eight years ago, famously gave a speech at the 2016 Republican convention in which he declined to endorse Trump by name and instead told voters to follow their consciences. Cruz exited the stage to a chorus of boos.

But DeSantis quickly endorsed Trump by name after finishing a distant second to him in Iowa. DeSantis aides said they had repeatedly been advised that he would have a speaking role and had no reason to believe he wouldn't, though they were unable to confirm a speaking slot Wednesday.

NBC News first reported that DeSantis would be on the RNC schedule.

DeSantis was already planning to be in Milwaukee during the convention, was planning to headline a Moms for Liberty town hall event and is scheduled to appear with fellow governors at the "Southern States Fest" at American Family Field.

Since February, Trump has taken control of all aspects of the Republican National Committee and the convention, installing his top lieutenants in party leadership, rewriting the party platform and closely scrutinizing who will speak.

Allowing DeSantis a speaking spot demonstrates how far the two have come since last year when Trump mocked his challenger as "DeSanctimonious" and the Florida governor campaigned against the former president as not having delivered on key priorities.

DeSantis has headlined fundraisers in Fort Lauderdale and Jackson Hole, Wyo., for Trump's candidacy, and is scheduling September events in Texas.

Trump phoned into the Fort Lauderdale event in May, when DeSantis and his top fundraisers spent the day reaching out to his top donors, praising DeSantis, saying "Ron, I love that you're back," according to people present.

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who remained in the race against Trump into March, was not invited to speak in Milwaukee, though she has said she will vote for Trump and has moved to release delegates she won to support Trump at the convention.

In a radio interview Wednesday morning, Trump made a distinction between his two former rivals.

"You know, there was a lot of bad blood there," he said of Haley, his former U.N. Ambassador. "She stayed too long. She was being soundly defeated at every place, but she just wouldn't leave."

DeSantis, on the other hand, ended his campaign and endorsed Trump shortly after losing his first primary.

"He left after Iowa, because he said there was no way he could win," Trump said on Fox News Radio.

He also dismissed the idea that reconciling with Haley could help him win over the moderate voters, some of whom continued to back her even after she ended her candidacy.

"No. They're not going to vote for Biden," Trump said. "They're going to vote for Trump."

Citizens Insurance says higher rates are necessary to preserve market

Citizens Insurance says rate hikes in Florida are needed to help stabilize the state’s property insurance market. The insurer is asking state leaders to approve a 14% rate hike.

Officials said that rates are so low that they believe that they’re undercutting the market and making it increasingly difficult to welcome new insurers into Florida.

At its peak in 2023, Citizens held as many as 1.4 million policies.

Now the insurer is down to 1.2 million home insurance policies, but Citizens officials say they want to reduce policies to below 1 million by the end of the year.

Representatives of the company say raising rates will help with depopulation, because private companies’ premiums will be within 20% of Citizens, making some people no longer eligible to stay with the insurer of last resort.

“We need to be there for the people of Florida when they have nowhere else to go," said Citizens Insurance CEO Tim Cerio. "But we shouldn’t hamper a return of these policies to the private market who otherwise would be in the private market if it were healthier. We shouldn’t hamper that return by having artificially low rates."

Citizens officials say they believe that until they make their rates reflect the actual market in Florida, it’s going to be difficult for the state to recruit and retain private insurers.

Moreover, they say there are also questions about whether the company should insure second homes.

That was a point raised Wednesday by at least two board members.

Orlando small business owner says inflation still a top concern

In a big election year, small business owners will be voting with one big issue in mind: their bottom line.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports that inflation remains the top concern for small business owners, despite inflation rates beginning to trend downward.

Quay Hu set up his own photography studio in 2019, after he decided professional photos for his family were too expensive.

“I thought I could do it myself, so I went and bought my own camera,” said Hu.

His love of photography might only be matched by his love of coffee. Just before the pandemic hit, Hu decided to expand his photography studio to include a coffee shop, Qreate Coffee.  

“Come here, get some coffee, talk through the concept of the shoot, take the shoot, sit back down and look at all the images and take it from there,” he said.

But a few months after opening his shop, the pandemic started, and after that, prices for everything skyrocketed. Hu said an order of 1,000 coffee cups went from $30 to $120.

“Now they’re back down to roughly $80 per a thousand," he said. "They never went back down to pre-pandemic prices."

But Hu doesn’t want to price out his base of loyal customers.

“You don’t want to increase prices so high that consumers can’t buy or enjoy your product, so personally I’ve taken a lower cut,” he said.

And that lower cut means Hu’s taking home less money to his family, which has led to some tough choices.

“I’m consistently telling the girls we can’t do this or we can’t do that,” said Hu.

Hu is constantly shopping for cheaper prices for goods and supplies. He says most prices aren’t still rising, and luckily now leveling off. But he worries those prices will never go back down to what they were.

“It’s definitely a lot of value engineering where I have to look for products that are just as well, just as high quality,” said Hu.

Hu said during this election year, he’ll be looking for candidates who are pledging more support for small business owners.

“If they’re pushing tax breaks or certain grants for us businesses to stay afloat, yeah, that’s a huge consideration for me as a business owner,” he said.

Hu said $18,000 in Paycheck Protection Program money during the pandemic helped out. But that money’s long gone, and with some small businesses continuing to struggle to keep good workers and pay them increasing wages, he says more help is needed.

“Are we going to continue to take a hit on the actual labor costs and make less money?" he said. "Or how far can we do that where we’re not going to make it and it’s not worth keeping the business open?"