Friday's portion of the Faith & Freedom Coalition's conservative conference — "the nation's premier pro-faith, pro-family event" — in Orlando, Florida featured appearances from Republican lawmakers like Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and former Vice President Mike Pence. Naturally, things were said.
To start, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) mixed up the Pledge of Allegiance and the national anthem, erroneously claiming "woke, rich football players" are kneeling for the former instead of the latter.
When Cruz arrived on stage, he said he was going to do something "radical" — tell the truth. Such radical truth telling included statements like "George Washington was an American hero," writes The Washington Post's Dave Weigel. Cruz also admitted his prepared remarks originally used the phrase "a call to arms," but a member of his team told him to remove it for fear of media "numbskulls" misrepresenting his words as a call to violent action.
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He even asserted that Democrats, much like the Terminator, "are soulless, have no brain, and red eyes."
Next up was Graham, who appeared to dabble in what The Recount dubbed "stand-up comedy."
And, for his part, Rubio doubled-down on a frequent conservative critique of the term "equity," as well as "social justice," during his stint in front of the crowd.
Pence's time in the spotlight was decidedly less grand — hecklers could be heard shouting over the former Vice President as he spoke, calling him a "traitor." Previously, Pence broke with Trump and his base after certifying the results of the 2020 election as legitimate.
All in all, just another day in GOP paradise.
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