POLITICO Playbook: Trump sours on DeSantis

TODAY’S MUST-READ — “The toughest trial KEVIN MCCARTHY faces on his way to becoming House speaker isn’t reclaiming the majority. It’s what comes afterward.” That’s the blunt takeaway from Olivia Beavers’ big piece this morning drawing on interviews with more than 40 Republicans, which “point to two worrisome factions for McCarthy in a future vote for speaker: conservatives and wild cards.”

HERE’S THE THING …

• DONALD TRUMP has been complaining to members and guests at Mar-a-Lago that Florida Gov. RON DESANTIS still hasn’t joined the other 2024 hopefuls in pronouncing that he won’t run for president if Trump runs. One guest suspects that Trump’s gripes are so frequent because he is planting them in hopes that they’ll get back to DeSantis. Trump has told his advisers that DeSantis privately assured him that he won’t run if Trump does, but that’s not enough for the former president — he wants DeSantis to say it in public. Trump has even suggested that DeSantis shouldn’t underestimate his Democratic challenger CHARLIE CRIST, calling him a “killer.” Now, as DeSantis crisscrosses the country to raise money for his 2022 reelection, Trump aides are starting to feel pressure to pick sides. Trump has made it known that he didn’t appreciate that former White House chief of staff MARK MEADOWS traveled to Beverly Hills for a DeSantis fundraiser in June (also in attendance: Trump pal and casino magnate STEVE WYNN and former Treasury Secretary STEVE MNUCHIN) and then went on to Orange County, where he introduced DeSantis to other deep-pocketed donors. In a statement to Playbook, a spokesperson for Trump called this reporting “fake news.”
• At the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Georgetown, the students don’t want DAVE CHAPPELLE’s money. The high school planned a fundraiser with its famed alum for Nov. 23 to raise money for a new theater named after the comedian, but quietly canceled the event due to an uproar over remarks he made about transgender people in his recent Netflix special, “The Closer.” Now here’s the backstory: Two students tell Playbook that their peers got into a heated debate with faculty after being told that they were expected to help assemble an exhibition to honor Chappelle on the same day as the fundraiser. With many of their classmates identifying as LGBTQ+, the students were uncomfortable supporting the comic, and some even talked about staging a walkout if the tribute went forward. Ellington ended up canceling the fundraiser, even though an invite had already been sent to multiple patrons. Chappelle, a graduate of Ellington, has credited the school with saving his life, donated $100,000 to his alma mater, gave it one of…