Villagers crowded the meeting room at Panera on Monday morning, passionate about protecting President Donald Trump.
The crowd was so large, they were fortunate a fire marshal didn’t stop for coffee at the Lake Sumter Landing eatery.
Yet their size was dwarfed by their passion.
Volusia County GOP Committee leader Tony Ledbetter revved up the group and offered a playbook for protecting Trump and pushing his agenda.
He said the president is under attack from the media, Democrats and even fellow Republicans.
He encouraged the people in the room to take Trump’s revolution to the next level – their local Republican party.
Ledbetter was a Tea Partier who took over his local Republican Party. Volusia County had been dominated by Democrats.
“Now we are a red county. We have more Republicans than Democrats,” he said.
Ledbetter is currently touring the state, encouraging Trumpers to take charge.
“If you’re not inside your local Republican Party, you’re not going to change it,” Ledbetter said.
There was plenty of dissatisfaction with the Republican status quo.
Those in the room described their unhappiness as a “groundswell” of growing anger.
They bared their teeth at the mention of Marco Rubio, John McCain, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, all United States senators who have been at odds with Trump.
Even Adam Putnam, the state’s agriculture commissioner eyeing the Governor’s Mansion, got a few boos.
“He’s a squishy Republican,” Ledbetter said.
The only Republican other than Trump who won cheers was Congressman Ron DeSantis, who has visited The Villages.
