Support for Donald Trump drowned out his Republican opponents at Florida's GOP gathering on Saturday. Asa Hutchinson was booed and jeered when he said in his speech that there's a good chance Trump will be convicted in the trials he's facing, and he called the former president's behavior "destructive," the Washington Post reports. "Go home!" somebody in the audience shouted. Trump critic Chris Christie was booed before he reached the microphone. He took his loud critics on, per the Hill, telling them catcalls won't solve the nation's problems.
The former New Jersey governor, who was trying to advise attendees not to nominate Trump, said they were free to reject his arguments once he's been allowed to present them. "Your anger against the truth is reprehensible," Christie said, later adding, "You fear the truth." The crowd gave home-state Sen. Rick Scott, on the other hand, loud cheers when he reminded them he just endorsed Trump. He did not mention another Trump opponent—Gov. Ron DeSantis, who told the crowd later Saturday that "Florida has shown the way forward for the Republican Party." One Lake County Republican leader in the crowd agreed, to a point, saying he likes DeSantis as governor. But any Republican running against Trump "should be ashamed of themselves," Chuck Benoit said.
A Republican strategist said DeSantis' selling point is his record as governor, per the AP. So when Florida Republican leaders choose Trump, who was scheduled to speak Saturday night, that's a problem for DeSantis. So "weakening DeSantis' standing in Florida is a clear objective of the Trump campaign," said Alex Conant. DeSantis' slippage was reflected in a decision by a vendor at the event in Kissimmee who was selling Trump and DeSantis merchandise on Saturday, per the AP. Peter Crotty marked his DeSantis T-shirts down from $25 to $5. (More Republican candidates stories.)
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