A self-described “hardcore Trump supporter” has gone viral on social media after she offered praise for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during one of his recent campaign stops.
Amplified by DeSantis’ campaign, the woman’s remarks came after the 2024 Republican presidential hopeful spoke to a group of voters in Tega Cay, South Carolina, on Monday.
“I was invited to come today to listen to you,” the unidentified woman said in the clip. “I’m a very hardcore Trump supporter… he made me stop and think a minute. Because my love for President Trump comes from all the despair of all the things he’s been through, he has served as our president of the United States, and he did a good job.”
“I’m thinking more with my heart and my sorrow and my love for him and for this country,” she added. “But now I – this is the most important vote that we’re gonna have, and I have to think more with my mind and what’s best for this country. And you did an excellent job and I certainly appreciate it.”
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Responding to the woman amid a round of applause from those in the room, DeSantis said, “God bless you. Thank you.”
“I appreciate that, and I agree with you,” he continued. “I appreciate what President Trump did. How they treated him with things like Russia collusion was a disgrace. He was treated wrong. He was treated in ways that were unconstitutional. But here’s the thing. The question for us now is what are we going to do about it?”
“We need to end the weaponization of government. I will get that done. It’s not about me, it’s about you. It’s about me standing up for you and standing up for this constitution and restoring this country to what the Founding Fathers envisioned. We will get it done, we will be focused, we will be disciplined, and we will make it happen,” he concluded.
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The clip – which has more than 1.2 million viewers on Twitter – was shared swiftly by those supporting DeSantis in the presidential race.
Weighing in on the exchange at the South Carolina event, a woman who claimed to experience the discussion firsthand wrote in a tweet: “You can see the back of my head in this video – I was sitting right there. This was a pivotal moment and she was absolutely correct.”
However, despite some of the praise the video received, others concluded that the exchange between DeSantis and the woman was “staged” or “pre-scripted.”
“Staged,” wrote Alex Bruesewitz, a pro-Trump Republican operative, wrote in response.
“Stop what you are doing and watch this preselected, pre-scripted question and answer,” another user said in a tweet.
DeSantis is second in the polls, trailing Trump by double digits but ahead of the rest of the large field of GOP presidential contenders, who are polling in the single digits.
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this article.