Hurd booed by Iowa Republicans after saying Trump is running to ‘stay out of prison’

Former Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) on Friday was jeered by a crowd of Iowa Republicans at a gathering for 2024 presidential candidates when he asserted former President Trump is only running for the White House “to stay out of prison.”

“One of the things we need in our elected leaders: To tell the truth, even if it’s not popular,” Hurd, a candidate himself, said at the Iowa GOP’s Lincoln Dinner.

“Donald Trump is not running for president to make American great again. Donald Trump is not even running to represent the people that voted for him in 2016 and in 2020,” Donald Trump is running for president to stay out of prison,” Hurd continued, eliciting boos and heckles from those in attendance.

“I know, the truth is hard,” he added, echoing comments he made on Thursday. “But if we elect Donald Trump we are willingly giving Joe Biden four more years in the White House.”

Hurd wrapped up his remarks moments later and exited the stage to a mix of applause and boos.

The former congressman, who served three terms in the House and spent several years working at the CIA, has been sharply critical of Trump and argued the former president is unfit for another term in the White House.

Hurd has argued Trump is merely running for president to avoid jail time in the wake of additional charges being filed by federal prosecutors over Trump’s handling of classified documents.