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Doral, Florida — This week, Lara Trump, daughter-in-law of President Trump, served as the keynote speaker at the Trump Day gala dinner hosted by the Manatee County Republican Executive Committee (REC) at the Bradenton Area Convention Center in Palmetto, Florida. The members of the Manatee County REC were installed by the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) leadership in 2024, after that same leadership purged the REC’s duly elected MAGA members.
Prior to the event, Lara Trump received formal notice from the American Patriot Executive Committee (APEC), a newly formed coalition of MAGA and America First activists, warning her that the RPOF leadership has been systematically purging grassroots MAGA conservatives from the Republican Party since 2024. These purges have often been justified on frivolous grounds, including referring to party insiders as “RINOs,” associating with grassroots election integrity groups, and organizing opposition to establishment leadership. (See: www.apecunited.com.)
The Miami Independent has extensively documented this campaign by establishment figures within the RPOF to remove MAGA grassroots conservatives from party positions:
1. https://miamiindependent.com/local-politics/2024/09/05/how-grassroots-conservatives-won-the-republican-primary-elections-in-manatee-county-florida/
2. https://miamiindependent.com/politics/2025/11/10/stop-rinos-goring-maga/
3. https://miamiindependent.com/politics/2025/12/08/rinos-hate-but-need-maga/
The gala dinner itself was organized by the RINO-controlled Manatee County REC, which was appointed by the RPOF after purging the MAGA committee duly elected in 2024. The RPOF has pursued similar anti-MAGA actions statewide, most recently in Charlotte and Brevard counties.
By appearing at and endorsing this event, Lara Trump effectively legitimized and enabled the ongoing purge of MAGA conservatives by RINO party insiders. This deepens divisions within Republican ranks at a moment when unity is essential to holding Congress in the November general elections and advancing the MAGA agenda.
Personal Witnesses
In response to Lara Trump’s appearance, APEC held a press conference immediately prior to the gala dinner in Bradenton. Speakers included several duly elected MAGA members of the Republican Party who were purged from their positions by the RPOF leadership on frivolous grounds.
1. Cathi Chamberlain, founder of APEC, is the author of Rules for Deplorables (2018) and Rules for RINOs (2025), and a co-founder of Pinellas Watchdogs, a grassroots conservative organization. She was removed last year as a Precinct Committeewoman in Pinellas County due to her dissent from the official RPOF party line.
Chamberlain explained that during President Trump’s first term she believed conservatives’ primary enemies were Democrats and leftists. She now believes the greater threat comes from Republicans who do not support conservative policies and instead engage in politics for personal gain as lobbyists.
2. Jacki Heisse, Manatee County State Committeewoman, was duly elected by Republican voters in the August 2024 primary but was purged by the RPOF leadership in March 2025. She described the RPOF leadership in Tallahassee as “pirates” who are effectively stealing the Republican Party for profit-driven lobbyists.
Heisse noted that these party insiders appointed new members for the Manatee County REC but failed to report those names to the county Supervisor of Elections, as required by statute. She argued that their objective is to eliminate competition in Republican primaries so donor-backed candidates face no internal opposition. She emphasized that the role of MAGA activists is to educate voters and drive turnout in primary elections.
3. Trent Wayman, Manatee County State Committeeman, was also duly elected by Republican voters and subsequently purged by the RPOF. He entered party politics after learning about Dan Schultz’s Precinct Strategy, which encourages conservatives to influence the party from the ground up by becoming precinct committeemen.
Wayman said he discovered a culture of corruption in which party bosses serve special interests in Tallahassee while disregarding grassroots voters. He said that the RPOF leadership distributed fake voter guides in Manatee County to mislead primary voters, and that his opposition to these tactics led directly to his removal.
4. Jack May, Manatee County Committeeman for Precinct 313 and president of Manatee Patriots, another grassroots MAGA organization, was also purged despite being duly elected.
May framed the conflict as a spiritual struggle, citing Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians and warning against fellowship with “the forces of darkness.” He described his efforts to support conservative candidates in nonpartisan School Board races, noting that the RPOF provided no support and even confiscated funds intended for those campaigns.
5. Samantha Zeller, Manatee County Committeewoman for Precinct 507, joined the REC in April 2023 and said she encountered little discussion of policy issues and no meaningful candidate support. In September 2024, her entire REC was suspended by the RPOF. When a new meeting was convened in May 2025, former members were barred from participation.
6. Kevin Wright, another REC member suspended without cause, denounced what he described as unlawful actions by the RPOF leadership. A West Point graduate, Wright said he lives by the Academy’s honor code—“not to lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate those who do”—and urged grassroots conservatives to restore integrity to the Republican Party.
7. Marcus Carter, Republican candidate for Congress in Florida’s 9th District, which includes parts of Osceola, Orange, and Polk counties, also addressed the press conference. The seat is currently held by Democrat Darren Soto, first elected in 2016.
Carter said that as a MAGA candidate he faces the same rejection by the RPOF leadership as purged REC members. His campaign has received no institutional support, forcing him to rely on grassroots organizing and door-to-door outreach. He added that similar purges of conservative dissidents are occurring nationwide, as party insiders attempt to “wait out” the MAGA movement, much as they did with the Tea Party after 2009. He urged Republican voters to pay closer attention to issues and participate in primary elections.
The press conference was livestreamed by Coastal Conservative News, hosted mostly by Michelle Pozzie, who described experiencing similar treatment from the RPOF and is now running for School Board in Sarasota County.
Florida has 67 counties, each with its own School Board. Although Florida is largely conservative, School Boards tend to skew progressive. This is due in part to their nonpartisan designation and that the initial elections are held on primary day, when turnout is historically low. In Miami-Dade County, for example, voter turnout in the 2024 primary was just 20 percent, compared to 72 percent in the general election.
Lara, Did You Know?
The answer to the question “Did Lara know?” appears to be yes.
Nevertheless, Lara Trump is reportedly following the counsel of Suzie Wiles, President Trump’s Chief of Staff and a former Tallahassee lobbyist and political operative in Florida. Wiles apparently has advised Trump-world figures that MAGA dissidents are “unhinged” and alienate moderate independent voters, so therefore must be purged from the party in order to win elections.
What the Republican establishment is actually doing, however, is alienating the conservative grassroots base—without which Republican candidates cannot win. Wiles has further demonstrated her arrogance and questionable judgment by her interviews with Vanity Fair, a woke progressive publication.
