Former President Donald Trump took to the stage Saturday night at the Florida Freedom Summit in Kissimmee and drew loud applause while GOP rivals such as former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson were booed and heckled by the crowd when they criticized him.
NBC News—no friend of Trump—printed a headline about the evening proclaiming, “Trump dominates Florida Republican Party event on Ron DeSantis' home turf.”
Governor Ron DeSantis actually drew an excited home state crowd of his own, but he was given an afternoon slot while Trump earned the keynote address.
DeSantis’ campaign was able to fill the room with supporters shortly before his 1:30 p.m. speech. There were large cheers and vocal support for remarks given by his wife, Casey DeSantis, who opened for her husband, and DeSantis’ speech, which focused on culture war fights that have defined DeSantis politically but opened with a shot at Trump for using teleprompters.
“Can we get rid of these teleprompters…I don’t think we need those in Florida,” DeSantis said as he took the podium. “You’ve got to speak from the heart.”
Some DeSantis supporters were bused in for his speech and had a big presence when DeSantis was on stage, but they were not there for most of the day — leaving an overwhelming perception that the day belonged to Trump.
Note that I'm quoting from NBC News, though, and if there's anybody who they want down a peg or two besides Trump, it's DeSantis, so take their hit piece with a grain of salt.
In fact, DeSantis spox Christina Pushaw noted that the governor received a rousing welcome despite his speaking time.
A home state hero’s welcome for @RonDeSantis and @CaseyDeSantis who just landed in Orlando! Great to see so many Free State of Florida patriots coming out to the airport to welcome our governor 🇺🇸 🙌 ♥️ pic.twitter.com/ElymW2OUu5
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) November 4, 2023
Despite his strong support from some quarters, DeSantis does face an uphill battle. Trump endorsements from Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) and others have undercut his momentum:
The morning before the event, Trump’s campaign also announced seven members of the Florida Legislature that had previously endorsed DeSantis were flipping to support Trump. The move had been anticipated but was still a blow to DeSantis who, since taking office, has had complete control of the state’s Republican infrastructure.
“This happens in these things,” DeSantis said of the flips. “We have had flips the other way in other states. It’s a dynamic thing. I mean, politicians do what they are going to do. But I would say taking a step back and looking across the country, we have got more endorsements from state legislators than any other candidates by far, like going down in Iowa and New Hampshire, all these places.”
I have been at a loss to explain DeSantis’ inability thus far to garner more support because I think he was arguably the best leader in the nation regarding the COVID pandemic and has strong conservative credentials.
I get the appeal of Trump and voted for him twice, and his administration was demonstrably superior to Joe Biden’s on every single measure imaginable. But I still would have predicted that DeSantis would be closer to the frontrunner at this point in the game. As it stands, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is creeping up on him for second place. She was unable to attend the summit due to family matters.
My guess is that the relentless assault on Trump by local prosecutors and Merrick Garland's corrupt Department of Justice has riled up the rebellious nature of Republicans, and many of them want to tell the DOJ and the Biden administration where to stick it.
I think DeSantis still has a strong future as a Republican, even if he is unable to secure the '24 GOP nomination.
But here are some of Trump’s notable moments:
Here he nails Joe on the disastrous Biden-created border crisis:
And vows things will change if he’s president again:
No votes have been cast in the GOP presidential primary, and there’s still plenty of time for things to change. As it stands right now, however, it looks like it will be very hard for Donald Trump's GOP competitors to knock him off his perch.
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