'Clown show': Florida Democrats respond to Rubio, Scott and DeSantis RNC speeches

The Florida Democratic Party called Tuesday evening’s Republican National Convention speeches from Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio “a clown show” and a “circus.”

“The Republican Party can preach ‘unity’ all night long but the only thing they are united on is sending America backwards,” Democratic chair Nikki Fried said in a news release Wednesday following what she called “Florida Night” at the RNC.

The three took the stage during the second day of the convention in Milwaukee, where the party has nominated former President Donald Trump as its candidate for president.

DeSantis took the stage that evening and expressed support for Trump, with whom he’d traded jabs before dropping out of the primaries.

Ron DeSantis. Credit: Governor’s office

DeSantis called President Joe Biden a “figurehead” and touted his own success in boosting Republican voter registration in the state, plus his COVID-19 response, attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and support for “parental rights” in education.

Fried said DeSantis “recycled old talking points from his failed presidential campaign.”

She criticized the senators, too, highlighting that Scott was absent from recent votes taken in the Senate and that Rubio “limped” on stage following the announcement that he would not be Trump’s vice-presidential candidate.

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott via his U.S. Senate page.

Scott spoke for just over five minutes, rounding it out with a call to voters to courageously support Trump.

“Donald Trump has given up a lot for this country,” Scott said. “His family has been slandered, he’s been impeached, censored, treated as a criminal, all because he never backs down. This week he has shown the courage all of us should display as we rally around him to rescue our great country.”

Scott said he had a “not far-fetched nightmare” that Biden won a second term, whereupon gas prices rose $10, only rich people could buy groceries, and Democrats rigged elections.

All three Florida Republicans dwelled on border security and inflation, asking convention-goers to recall how much everyday items cost during the Trump compared to the Biden presidencies.

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Rubio’s speech called for an “America first” attitude, and he gave a shoutout to Trump’s pick for vice president, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, a Republican representing Ohio. Rubio said Vance reminds “us we are all descendants of ordinary people who achieve extraordinary things.”

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. Credit: Rubio U.S. Senate

DeSantis called for increased border security, universal school choice, “a strong, focused” military, and lowering taxes.

U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds made an appearance on Monday. He spent the bulk of his time advocating for school choice.

Fried argued that electing Biden would lead to true unity.

“These dangerous and extreme policies are the backbone of the modern Republican Party and represent a vision for America that threatens to take us back to a time when we had fewer rights,” Fried said.

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