Ron DeSantis’ wife and kids looked like the perfect family at a Houston rodeo Friday when the Florida governor skipped the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Three-time national champion equestrian Casey DeSantis was all smiles as she rode a horse with her two children, Madison, 6, and Mason, 4, in a sweet video posted to her Twitter account.
But her father was conspicuously absent from the scene as he prepared to give a speech at Harris County’s annual Lincoln Reagan dinner on Friday night.
It came as DeSantis missed the CPAC after he moved from Florida to Washington earlier this year, leaving Donald Trump at the center of the event.
The two are believed to be on track for a head-to-head battle for the 2024 Republican presidential primary, as polls consistently show DeSantis to be Trump’s toughest competition.
Pictured, Casey DeSantis enjoys a rodeo with her kids as her husband skipped CPAC to give a speech at the annual Harris County Lincoln Reagan Dinner in Houston.
Casey, a three-time national equestrian champion, was all smiles as she rode with Mason, four
DeSantis has yet to announce whether he will run, though observers note that he is raising his profile fiercely.
Florida’s first family seemed to ignore any political tension over the weekend as they spent the day at the Show and Rodeo, the world’s largest cattle show.
Casey captioned the post: ‘The kids and I had a great time in Houston!’
The video opens with the family enjoying a horseback ride at the rodeo, while later shots show the kids playing on the rides, feeding animals and eating ice cream.
DeSantis’ team said foxnews which Casey has won in three national equestrian championships.
It was a busy week for Casey, who launched the Cancer Connect Collaborative on Thursday, an initiative designed to “rethink Florida’s approach to fighting cancer.”
Meanwhile, her husband was at the Harris County Lincoln Reagan Dinner at the George R. Brown Convention Center on Friday night.
The family is later seen eating ice cream, feeding animals, and testing the games in a video uploaded to their Twitter account.
Casey and her son Mason go down a slide. She captioned the post: ‘The kids and I had a great time in Houston!’
Florida’s first family seemed to ignore any political tension over the weekend as they spent the day at the Show and Rodeo, the world’s largest cattle show.
His team told him foxnews it was a sold-out event and the busiest in the dinner’s history, despite some progressives organizing protests against its education policies.
Trump appeared to make several scathing comments about DeSantis during his CPAC speech, for which he was given top billing.
Although he did not mention the governor by name, he did refer to enemies “in our own party.”
“We’re not going to go back to the people who want to destroy our great Social Security system,” Trump said in his speech.
Even some of our own party. I wonder who it could be.
Some saw it as a dig at DeSantis, who has previously expressed support for privatizing Social Security and raising the retirement age.
He recently distanced himself from that position, declaring “we’re not going to mess with Social Security like Republicans.”
The Desantis family at Christmas. The Florida governor has been fiercely raising his profile ahead of an early run in the 2024 Republican presidential primary.
DeSantis was notably absent from CPAC after he moved to Washington from his home state of Florida.
CPAC relocated to Washington, after being stuck in Florida for the past two years due to the pandemic.
Trump also used his moment to criticize other senior members of the Republican Party while claiming that he had prevented World War III.
He called out Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell as a “China-loving politician” and encouraged the crowd to boo Sen. Mitt Romney.
The former president also decisively won a CPAC opinion poll with 62 percent of conference attendees saying they wanted him to be the 2024 Republican nominee.
‘In 2016 I declared that I am your voice. Today I add, I am your warrior, I am your justice, and for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution,” she told the enthusiastic crowd.
He also took aim at President Joe Biden mocking him for falling off his bike and tripping on the stairs of Air Force One.
At one point, his speech was interrupted by a protester who blared the song FDT (F**k Donald Trump).
Trump is pictured on one of the giants at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland during his CPAC speech
Audience members at CPAC hold a ‘Thank You Trump’ banner as the former president speaks Saturday night