'Trump is running to stay out of prison': GOP candidate booed for dig at former president

DES MOINES, Iowa — A dozen of the Republican White House contenders who want to keep former President Donald Trump from winning the 2024 presidential nomination joined him here Friday for a dinner with hundreds of influential activists in the state that holds the first caucuses.

But as has been the case for months in a race in which Trump polls as the comfortable front-runner, few dared to take even an indirect shot at him. And the one who delivered the night’s most slashing attack, former Texas Rep. Will Hurd, was booed as he left the stage.

“Donald Trump is not running for president to make America great again,” Hurd said, invoking Trump's slogan before bringing up the legal troubles cascading around him, including a superseding indictment approved by a grand jury this week. “Donald Trump is running to stay out of prison.”

The loud jeers that rang out inside the Iowa Events Center ballroom at the state party's Lincoln Dinner were at once illustrative of the power and loyalty Trump still commands and the challenges faced by those trying to beat him.

“Listen, I know the truth,” Hurd said, talking over the crowd as he neared the 10-minute time limit given to all candidates. “The truth is hard. But if we elect Donald Trump, we are willingly giving Joe Biden four more years in the White House and America can’t handle that.”

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson — like Hurd, a long shot barely registering in the polls — was the only other candidate to criticize Trump overtly and by name. Hutchinson’s approach was more mild-mannered, and his speech stirred little reaction among the audience.

“As it stands right now, you will be voting in Iowa while multiple criminal cases are pending against former President Trump,” Hutchinson said. “Iowa has an opportunity to say, we as a party, we need a new direction for America and for the GOP. We are a party of individual responsibility, accountability and support for the rule of law. We must not abandon that.”

While not crowd-pleasers, Hurd and Hutchinson stood out at an event where all 13 candidates had equal footing. Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann emphasized at the outset that everyone would be held to the time limit. Only Hutchinson went over the allotted 10 minutes; his condemnation of Trump was interrupted by music.

Trump, known for rambling campaign speeches that can go on for hours, spoke last and ended with seconds to spare. He appeared rushed, reading from a list of accomplishments. He emphasized how his Supreme Court picks resulted in the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and his favorable poll numbers. He sprinkled in a few attacks on his closest competitor, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whom he repeatedly called “Ron DeSanctus.” Trump also repeated his lies that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

“They rigged the presidential election in 2020,” Trump said. “We’re not going to allow them to rig the presidential election of 2024.”

He received one of the evening’s most robust standing ovations, along with DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who has been gaining in other polls.

DeSantis is attempting to revive a presidential bid that began with promise — he polled much closer to and in some cases ahead of Trump earlier this year — but has lost ground since he entered the race. He spent Thursday and Friday campaigning across Iowa at events paid for by a supportive super PAC. But rather than adopt new messaging that advisers have suggested could make him more appealing to voters, DeSantis largely stuck to the culture war themes he’s been advancing for months. He opened by mocking Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, for his struggle with drug addiction and ended with the subtlest of Trump contrasts.

“The time for excuses is over,” DeSantis said. “We must get the job done. I will get the job done.”

Candidates reserved their most pointed attacks for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who in recent weeks has emerged as a frequent DeSantis target. Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, embraced the tack in her speech Friday.

“A vote for Joe Biden is a vote for Kamala Harris,” Haley said. “That’s who we’re actually running against.”

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who has been critical of Trump and attended Friday’s dinner as the guest of an Iowa group that encourages young Republicans to run for office, said he wants to hear candidates draw sharper contrasts with the former president. He questioned whether a 10-minute speech was the best place but said he hopes to hear more at the first GOP debate next month in Milwaukee.

“Come the debates, that’s where they’re really toe-to-toe,” Sununu said. “I personally like to hear it, because I want to see who has the guts to do it. Who’s going to stand on their own two feet and call it out for what it is?”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com