South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on Saturday night warned Villages Republicans against voting for Donald Trump in Tuesday’s Florida Presidential Preference Primary.
She was in The Villages to make the case for GOP presidential candidate Marco Rubio, who will be appearing at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Rohan Recreation Center. Haley spoke at the Lincoln Day Dinner at Savannah Center before the largest-ever crowd of Republicans at the event.
“We can’t have Donald Trump as president,” Haley told the crowd. “A vote for Donald Trump is a vote for Hillary Clinton.”
At times, her applause lines drew lukewarm response. Last month at the same venue, Villages Republicans taking part in a straw poll strongly favored Trump. You can read more about that HERE.
From the podium, Haley acknowledged that the crowd wasn’t entirely with her.
“It’s his lack of judgement in what he says and how he says it,” Haley said as she tried to make her case. “We don’t need a divider and chief. We’ve had one for seven years.”
Haley likened her own biography to Rubio’s story. Her parents came to America from India with “$8 in their pockets.” Rubio’s parents came to the United States from Cuba. Rubio’s father worked as a bartender and his mother worked as a maid.
“Our parents wanted better lives for their children. And that’s what we want,” she said.
Out in the Savannah Center parking lot, Carter and Barbara Zinn were protesting against the governor’s visit.
They said they were disappointed last year when Haley called for the removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina state capitol.
They were flying the Camp 741 Private William R. Milton Florida 5th Regiment flag.
“If people study their history, they would find the Confederate flag was never flown on a slaveship, the only flag flown on a slaveship was the American flag,” he said.
Carter Zinn said the removal of the flag was disrespectful to the “southern way of life.”
