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Kimberly Guilfoyle eventually had to ask her audience at the Florida Republican Party annual dinner to clap for her as her awkward speech fell flat in front of an audience of allies.
It was a moment reminiscent of Jeb Bush’s “please clap” moment during the 2016 campaign.
Guilfoyle, the fiancée of Donald Trump Jr, was speaking at the dinner in Hollywood, Florida when she shared her hope that Democrats would lose seats in Congress and be forced to give up control of the White House.
“I’m here to tell you don’t lose hope. On a personal note, I can tell you that I am as hopeful as ever. Because Americans from all walks of life have had enough of the Democrats’ decline,” she told the audience.
“And we are ready, we are willing, and we are able to spark a new era of American exceptionalism,” she added.
She paused as a few people clapped and an awkward silence ensued.
“You can clap for that!” she said, prompting a few others to join in with the applause.
In Hanover, Iowa in February of 2016, Jeb Bush, a former Florida governor, also had to request that his audience put their hands together.
“I will not trash talk. I will not be a divider in chief or an agitator in chief. I won’t be out there blowharding, talking a big game without backing it up,” he said in remarks seemingly directed at then-candidate Donald Trump. “I think the next president needs to be a lot quieter but send a signal that we’re prepared to act in the national security interests of this country, to get back in the business of creating a more peaceful world.”
After a few moments of silence, Bush added: “Please clap.”
The event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood on Saturday night to rally donors was dubbed a “victory dinner” ahead of November’s election.
In recent years, Florida has gone from a key swing state to a Republican stronghold with a weak and disorganized Democratic Party.
Other speakers at the dinner included Governor Ron DeSantis, who ran unsuccessfully against Trump in the 2024 primary, and Senator Rick Scott, a former governor of the state.
With full control of the state government, the speeches focused more on the presidential race than winning congressional and state races, according to the Miami Herald.
“Victory is in our sites. America’s future is in our hands. America’s destiny is in our control and America’s prosperity is in our hearts and souls,” Guilfoyle told the crowd.
