'Yell and boo as much as you'd like': Republican long shots make their case in Florida and other trail takeaways

Republican presidential hopefuls who are polling low in the 2024 primary race appeared alongside higher-polling candidates like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at the Florida Freedom Summit on Saturday -- and received a frosty reception.

Meanwhile, DeSantis is taking shots at his top rivals, former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

Here's what you need to know from the campaign trail.

Long shot candidates get booed

Republican presidential candidates former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie -- both of whom have set themselves apart as among the most anti-Trump candidates in the race -- were met with boos Saturday as they addressed the Florida Freedom Summit in Kissimmee, Florida.

Hutchinson faced loud boos -- with one attendee shouting "go home," inspiring cheers from others -- when he delivered a strong condemnation of former President Donald Trump at Saturday's Florida Freedom Summit, about 10 minutes into his remarks.

"As someone who has been in the courtroom for over 25 years as a federal prosecutor and also in defending some of the most serious federal criminal cases, I can say that there is a significant likelihood that Donald Trump will be found guilty by a jury on a felony offense next year," he said.

Raucous "boos" filled the ballroom and continued through his remarks.

"As a party, we must support the rule of law. We cannot win as a country without the integrity of the White House," he said. "And while some will ignore the destructive behavior of the former president, I assure you we ignore it at our own peril."

Hutchinson made it clear that it was time for the GOP and its leadership to go another way.

"My friends, it is time for a new direction," he exclaimed. "It is time for Republican leadership."

Hutchinson's remarks were echoed by Christie, who got booed the moment he walked on the stage. However, even with the shouts of "loser" and "traitor" interrupting his remarks, he continued his speech.

"Every one of those boos, every one of those cat calls, and every one of those yells, will not solve one problem we face in this country and will not make this country. Your anger against the truth is reprehensible," he chastised attendees.

Christie told the crowd that the boos were petty and beneath the process of electing a president.

“When you think about the problems that our country and this world is facing, when you think about that this type of pettiness is beneath, beneath the process of electing a president," he said.

“And as people watch today, if your arguments are so strong, if your arguments are so great and mine are so bad, then just keep your quite let me make my awful arguments and you can just reject them out of hand but the problem is you fear the truth," he added.

The former governor did get his first cheers when mentioning Israel and noted that instead of booing at him, that Israel is "what we should spend our time talking about." He also received applause when speaking about Ukraine, telling the crowd that the U.S. has to defeat Russia.

Without naming Trump directly, Christie said that the U.S. deserves better than what the last three presidents in office have done for the country.

“We deserve once again, better character in the White House than what we've had from the last three presidents much better, than what we had for the last three presidents," he said.

“We cannot turn our back on the character flaws of the people we've helped to make leaders and then point our finger at the character flaws of the one sitting in the White House now. ... We must also admit when our leaders have been wrong, and you can yell and boo about it as much as you'd like, but it doesn't change the truth is coming," he warned.

Following his remarks, Christie’s campaign attempted to embrace the frosty reception he received at the summit, circulating a fundraising appeal to supporters via email and text encouraging donations.

DeSantis swipes at his top rivals

In his opening remarks at the Florida Freedom Summit, Gov. Ron DeSantis said to get rid of the teleprompters -- an indirect poke at former President Donald Trump, who uses teleprompters when giving remarks. DeSantis has ramped up attacks on the former president using teleprompters over the past couple of weeks.

DeSantis praised the work the GOP had done in the state to turn Florida into more of a reliable red state and pulling ahead of Democrats in voter registration.

"But you think of what's happened, and I don't think that there's a parallel anywhere in the modern history of the Republican Party than what's happened in the state of Florida," DeSantis said.

Asked whether he was concerned about Florida lawmakers who have switched their endorsements from DeSantis to Trump, the Florida governor -- who confidently answered "yes" when asked whether he would win the Florida Republican presidential primary in 2024 -- responded that "it's a dynamic thing."

"Politicians do what they're gonna do," he said, noting that others, such as an Iowa state senator and a handful of New Hampshire state representatives, have switched their endorsements from Trump to DeSantis.

Trump is set to address the crowd Saturday evening as the summit's final speaker.

Meanwhile, a senior aide for Never Back Down, the super PAC supporting DeSantis' presidential bid, indicated that the group would keep bankrolling attacks against former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who has gained traction in the Republican primary.

Kristin Davison, Never Back Down's chief financial officer, insisted the primary "is a race between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis" and dismissed Haley's recent surge in polls as "a moment."

Yet, she predicted "scrutiny" for Haley and hinted that the super PAC would be involved.

When asked by ABC News how much of that scrutiny would come via Never Back Down-funded attacks, Davison smiled and said, "We feel that it's important to expose Nikki Haley for her record and what she does. She does one thing now – it's very different from things she did when she was governor of South Carolina and angling for an ambassadorship."

Never Back Down has spent heavily on anti-Haley media in recent weeks, including at least two seven-figure ad buys attacking her in Iowa, according to federal filings.

"So, we believe -- I don't know how much. I think there are many other people who will make that case, including Iowans themselves," she added.

Haley has returned fire in recent days. Asked Thursday about recent ads that DeSantis has run about her recruitment of Chinese foreign investment in South Carolina as governor, she responded, "God bless Ron."

"I mean, Ron has literally spent millions on ads that have been ... literally claimed false from any one from CNN to Newsmax. Every one of them have claimed them to be false," she said.

The DeSantis camp has run at least one misleading ad about Haley, specifically regarding her stance toward accepting refugees from Gaza. The ad, released by DeSantis' Never Back Down PAC, features Haley in 2017 defending sending assistance to people in the West Bank and Gaza alongside a 2023 clip of her saying of the prospect of the United States accepting Gazan refugees, "That is not the role of U.S. to do that. I've always said that, and I continue to say that."

Asked about his mischaracterization of Haley's comments, DeSantis again accused her of wanting to vet refugees from the Gaza Strip, despite the fact that the former ambassador did not call for the U.S. to accept Gazan refugees.

ABC News' Michael Pappano and Libby Cathey contributed to this report.