World Cup? We got dinner at Mar-a-Lago as Jan. 6 Oath Keepers face jury's verdict

Hi, I am Antonio Fins, an editor with the USA TODAY Florida Network, and this is our recap of the week that was in Sunshine State politics.

The rest of the country fixated on the World Cup and the U.S. soccer team led by star Christian Pulisic, who has made a home purchase in this South Florida town. But in red Florida, it was all about political extremism.

Let's start with the dinner date between former President Trump, Ye, who we all used to know as Kanye West, and far-right frat boy Nick Fuentes.

At first, the dinner was notable because Ye said he got screamed at by Trump — we're shocked, too, Ye — after proposing that 45 join him as numero two on the performing artist's own presidential ticket. Then the episode went from disastrous to bizarre, giving Trump's "loyalists" in Florida post-Thanksgiving heartburn.

It wasn't just Trump's political crowd shaking their heads. The Salvation Army, which is hosting a philanthropic gala Saturday at Mar-a-Lago for its deepest-pocket donors, also had to separate itself from Trump's art of the controversy.

We're not really done here.

Pardoned felon Mike Flynn, who invoked the Fifth when asked if he supported the peaceful transfer of power by the Jan. 6 House committee, is holding an event at Mar-a-Lago next week. Up to now, Flynn has been leading a far-right takeover of the GOP chapter in Sarasota County, where he now lives. But that effort failed when the candidate Flynn-backed did not secure enough votes.

Speaking of extremism and the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on Capitol Hill, and coup attempt, a jury found Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes guilty of seditious conspiracy and other charges tied to his role in the violence. Also convicted by that jury was Titusville man Kenneth Harrelson, who was found guilty of obstructing an official proceeding of Congress, but not seditious conspiracy.

DeSantis penning book about how Florida is a model. Yeah, there you go again with 2024 talk. We know.

While Trump was mired in dinner-gate, Gov. Ron DeSantis was announcing the upcoming publication of his autobiography, which will also champion Florida as a model for the United States. Writing a book is a textbook move for anyone prepping a White House run, but why speculate?

We're betting Elon Musk will be reading it after the uber-illionaire said he'd back a DeSantis presidential candidacy. Maybe Elon, who's got a mess on his hands at Twitter, will get Big Tech direction from the governor.

Other than that, the governor was governing this week, including a stop in Northeast Florida to drop off a $5.5 million grant at the Jacksonville Commerce Center for a 3-mile railway connector.

His election crimes unit, which hasn't had a ton of success making a case for massive voter fraud, did notch one more arrest for illegal voting.

And his anti-woke crusade lined up another ally, House Speaker Paul Renner, a Palm Coast Republican. He ripped into what he called social experimenting "ideologues" advocating "indoctrination at the expense of education" and who "spend more time defending drag queen story time than actually promoting phonics and the science of reading."

In Southwest Florida, Venice officials will enact a code of conduct section to the special event permits to outline responsibilities and ramifications for violations after an outcry over last month's LGBTQ+ Venice Pride Festival.

Elections having consequences in local governments across Florida

But it is in Florida's local governments where the real political wrestlemania action is taking place.

In Sarasota County, the week started with schools chief Brennan Asplen facing a termination vote. It's partly an election consequences type of thing from a conservative swing in the school board's make-up and lingering resentment among some about past pandemic mask mandates.

Rather than firing Asplen, however, the board decided to enter negotiations for the superintendent's departure. That was despite a strong outpouring of public support for the superintendent.

Asplen said he "accepted" the fact that he would be finding a job elsewhere. But in a statement, he said he did so with a "heavy heart" and was "highly disappointed" and deeply felt the "emotional turmoil" from the board's decision.

There was more school drama across the peninsula on the Space Coast, where a new conservative school board member's comment was seen as disparaging transgender people as "mentally ill." The backlash drew Moms for Liberty's local co-founder Tina Descovich and Brevard State Rep. Randy Fine into the fray.

Racial politics played out in Jacksonville, where the mayor tweeted that there was "no place for hate" after a Confederate flag was flown over the city's football stadium.

Others in the city then pointed out that Jacksonville officials have yet to take action on removing Confederate monuments.

Elsewhere, last month's elections pivoted to a new political landscape. This erstwhile blue South Florida county saw two Republicans take office on the county commission. But in Alachua County, Democrats still rule despite a shift in district voting.

That's it for this week. But if you are pining for more, and you must be, listen to our latest episode of the Inside Florida Politics podcast by clicking here.

And finally, thank you for reading. We appreciate you trusting our statewide journalists to keep you informed. If you are encouraged by our work and want to support your local journalists, please consider subscribing. Know someone who would benefit from this newsletter? Forward this email so they can sign up here. 

— Producer Jonathan Tully and politics editor Antonio Fins curated this newsletter. Have any feedback for us? We'd love to hear from you via this form.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: President Trump's Mar-A-Lago dinner dates, Oath Keepers on trial