'Don't listen to Trump': Florida conservatives turn on ex-president over new comments

Donald Trump on Saturday commented about an upcoming vote on a new amendment in Florida, and conservatives are not happy about it.

Trump over the weekend took to Truth Social to proclaim himself the "most respected LAW & ORDER President in U.S. History," before going off in an odd direction and complaining about the smell of marijuana. He also appeared to approve of the passage of an amendment in Florida that would legalize possession of a personal amount of marijuana.

That didn't sit well with many traditional conservatives, including many of those in the state.

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Debbie Mathews, a Florida conservative, said in response to Trump, "Here we go again."

"Trump doesn’t understand a Florida Amendment," she said Saturday. "Study shows crime goes up when marijuana is legal. Can his advisors prep him better, please? Vote NO on 3."

David Biddle, chair of the Gilchrist GOP in the state, said on Saturday, "Don't listen to Trump. Vote NO on Amendment 3. We don't need recreational marijuana in Florida. It's been a disaster everywhere they have it, it brings zero benefit to society, it increases crime, increases homelessness, and increases further drug use. It's bad for Florida."

Conservative Army Iraq War Veteran Peter Henlein also chimed in:

"Great. Now we have Trump coming out for amendment 3 in Florida, saying it will pass. We know MAGA influencers are being paid large sums to promote this as well. It’s all just a big scam for money. And even though I am a big DeSantis supporter, if he can’t stand up to Trump over issues in his own state….well that’s pretty bad. Stop being afraid of Trump and MAGA."

Former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis, who identifies as a constitutional conservative from Florida, called Trump's comments a "PR play."

"Trump is talking about Amendment 3 to make conservatives start talking about why we obviously oppose this stupidity and he hopes we just forget about the Amendment 4 problem," she said. When someone suggested Trump may have been paid to endorse the cannabis amendment, Ellis said, "Definitely could be that too."