Turning Point Action's Student Activists Were Torn Between Trump, DeSantis Last Year. Not Now.

LOADING ERROR LOADING One year later, there is no more doubt. “And he doesn’t have the stamina, like Trump does, to win a general election.” Attendees at this year’s meeting booed at even the suggestion of a contested GOP primary. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez was greeted by jeers, as some shouted “RINO” — Republican In Name Only — and “Traitor!” When former Fox News host Megyn Kelly, a speaker at the event, suggested that the primary was a two-person race between Trump and DeSantis — “Realistically, it’s probably going to be one of those two,” she said — the room erupted in anger. As for DeSantis’ no-show over the weekend, Tyler Bowyer, Turning Point’s chief operating officer, said, “You only have a few opportunities in the grand scheme of an election cycle to get in front of major groups and all the media and to pass up this opportunity to lay out your vision for America I just think is one of the biggest mistakes.” DeSantis press secretary Bryan Griffin noted that the governor had “spent the day with Iowans and spoke to a packed house at the Tennessee GOP Statesman Dinner later that night.” “This was a day after he delivered the strongest interview at the Family Leadership Summit, which Donald Trump notably skipped,” Griffin said. “Ron DeSantis is campaigning to win.” Nielsen, who had been leaning toward DeSantis before switching to Trump, said he has concerns about DeSantis’ electability.