Floridians At RNC Respond To Convention Chaos
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CLEVELAND (CBSMiami) – Tense moments on the convention floor Monday afternoon gave way to dancing and cheers in the evening, as the prime time speakers touted Donald Trump as their pick for President.
But there remains a small group of delegates who say they just can't support the billionaire businessman.
"Roll call vote! Roll call vote," dozens of people screamed on the floor of Quicken Loans Arena.
It was a last-ditch effort to undermine Donald Trump's nomination.
"Point of order! Point of order," they shouted.
They wanted a roll call vote on the RNC rules, and thought they had enough petitioning states to make that happen.
In the end, only six states wanted the roll call vote, and the "Never Trump" movement failed.
Peter Feaman is the National Committeeman for Florida, serving on the Convention Rules Committee.
He said Florida's delegation is "all in for Trump".
"Maybe we didn't start out that way, but we are now," Feaman told CBS 4's Lauren Pastrana.
He's referring to the hard-fought primary, in which several Florida favorites like Sen. Marco Rubio and former Gov. Jeb Bush went toe-to-toe with Trump, and lost.
Several Florida delegates we spoke to say Trump wasn't their first, or even second choice, but they will reluctantly support him.
"Do I love Donald Trump? Absolutely not. Will I vote for him. Absolutely am," said Jesse Purdon, an alternate delegate from Southwest Florida.
But Daniel Ruoss with the Young Republican National Federation from Broward says he just can't bring himself to support the billionaire businessman.
"There's no way of convincing me. The only real question is whether I cast a vote at all," Ruoss said. "By acting like Donald Trump, by acting like a bully, the RNC has taken on those bully characteristics to even its own members. I was very disheartened to see that."
Miami-based delegate State Representative Carlos Trujillo says the party is right to follow the rules.
"Trump won through the primary process," Rep. Trujillo said. "The rules were stated. He won that process and now he has the right to be the Republican nominee."
Now the mission becomes party unity.
Feaman says he's confident after four days of speeches and meetings, some of the "Never Trump" people will come around.
Whether that happens, all signs point to Trump taking the stage Thursday night to accept the nomination.