Republican presidential candidate booed off stage for criticizing Donald Trump
Des Moines, Iowa - Presidential hopeful Will Hurd was booed off stage at a recent event after he made some disparaging remarks about former President Donald Trump.
Hurd, a former congressman from Texas, was the eighth speaker at the Republican Party's annual Lincoln Dinner on Friday night, and while things were going well for the first part of his speech, it all fell apart at the end.
"The reason Donald Trump lost the election in 2020 is he failed to grow the GOP brand in areas like women with a college degree in the suburbs, Black and Brown communities, and people under the age of 35," Hurd began his mild roast of the former president.
His comments at first gained some applause, but his follow-up point caused the audience to turn on him.
"One of the things we need in our elected leaders [is] for them to tell the truth, even if it's unpopular," Hurd continued. "Donald Trump is not running for president to make America great again. Donald Trump is not running for president to represent the people that voted for him in 2016 and 2020. Donald Trump is running to stay out of prison."
The audience erupted in boos, refusing to stop as Hurd attempted to finish.
"Listen, I know... the truth is hard, but if we elect Donald Trump, we are willingly giving Joe Biden four more years in the White House and America can't handle that," he concluded.
Donald Trump remains the leading Republican Party candidate
Just about every major Republican running in the 2024 race was at the event, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.
Ironically, Chris Christie, the only other politician in the race who has been shamelessly critical of Trump, did not attend. Every other candidate has refused to disparage the former president so as not to upset the Republican base.
Trump spoke during the event and claimed to the crowd, "If I weren't running, I would have nobody coming after me."
Despite facing multiple criminal charges that may threaten his re-election efforts, Trump has vowed that nothing, not even prison time, will keep him from continuing his campaign.
Cover photo: Collage: Sergio FLORES / AFP