5 takeaways from a day when Trump, DeSantis, Rubio and Scott descended on South Florida
Stephany MatatFlorida’s top Republicans were in action across South Florida on Thursday. Here are five takeaways from a unique day in Sunshine State politics.
Former president Donald Trump says if you can't say something nice ...
The day started with former President Donald Trump teeing off on the links at Trump National Doral west of Miami for a LIV tournament pro-am.
But when offered an opportunity to tee off on a potential 2024 presidential rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump uncharacteristically demurred.
"He’s a nice man," the former president said. "I don’t want to say anything that’s going to get me in trouble."
Donald Trump golfs:Trump spends LIV pro-am praising his game and proving Joe Biden is in his head | D'Angelo
More:Trump rallying in Florida without DeSantis, stoking more talk of growing rivalry
Sen. Marco Rubio on the fence when it comes to DeSantis and Trump?
Late in the afternoon, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio was in Jupiter in Palm Beach County for a "Getting Things Done" rally with local supporters, party officials and campaign workers.
Rubio was in Trump's home county just as he finds himself between Trump and DeSantis after the announcement of a rally with the ex-president on Nov. 6, an event DeSantis apparently has not been invited to.
At the event, Rubio spoke well of both Trump and DeSantis. He again defended the governor’s move to send immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard but also touted his upcoming campaign rally with the former president scheduled for two days before the election.
Marco Rubio, Rick Scott, Ron DeSantis attend Sean Hannity town hall
On Thursday night, DeSantis and Rubio were joined by U.S. Sen. Rick Scott for a town hall at King's Academy, a private Christian school in West Palm Beach hosted by Fox News' Sean Hannity. The event was closed to local press, but a number of the 200-plus people waiting in line to enter the venue said they were there to cheer DeSantis.
Many said they loved DeSantis’ "freedom" political brand. Many of them wore DeSantis campaign apparel. Some trucks in the parking lot had flags with “DeSantis 2022” written on them.
Hannity's townhouse:Fox’s Sean Hannity buys townhouse about 3 miles from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago on Palm Beach
Why was Thursday night's event held in West Palm Beach? That's unclear, but Hannity does own a townhome on Palm Beach, not far from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.
King's Academy is only about 10 miles west of Mar-a-Lago.
A lot of those in line to see the town hall said they were from California
The two candidates who have been named as potential 2024 presidential bids, DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, have traded barbs in the past few months.
But according to some people outside Thursday night's town hall, DeSantis' free Florida mantra has attracted Republican Californians to the state. Some said they had moved to Florida from the Golden State within the last few years.
“In other cities like in California, they just give criminals more rights than law-abiding citizens, which makes it unsafe for everybody else,” said ex-Californian Lisa Joos.
A silently organized event with three of the biggest names in Florida GOP politics
You knew about the Fox News event if you were a Palm Beach County GOPer or if you new someone who attended King’s Academy. Aside from that, the event was pretty much a well-kept secret.
Still, more than 200 people were lined up outside of the school. The crowd got free tickets through a link sent to them.
Stephany Matat is a journalist at the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at smatat@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.