Rep. Byron Donalds, candidate for governor of Florida, speaks at the Republican National Midterm Convention in Dallas, Texas, U.S., September 9, 2026. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare
A MAGA crowd at a campaign event for Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) heckled his running mate, Bryan Avila, as he opened his speech in Spanish — with one man ordering him to speak English.
The heckling broke out Monday during Avila's remarks at a campaign stop in Kissimmee, Florida.
Donalds, the Republican nominee for Florida governor, named Avila his running mate on Aug. 25, giving the ticket deep ties to Miami-Dade's Cuban American community, WPTV reported. Avila, then a state senator, is the son of Cuban exiles.
Avila began his remarks to the crowd in Spanish, telling the GOP voters that he was from Miami and thanking the pastor for having them, the footage shows.
When a woman in the audience shouted, he answered briefly in English before switching back, according to the video.
"For me, honestly, it has been a dream to travel the entire state of Florida, to visit many communities in our state, to talk with many people, whether they are Cubans, Puerto Ricans, from Venezuela, from Colombia, from Brazil, lots of people," Avila said in Spanish.
"This election is a very important election in our community and in our state," he continued, still speaking in Spanish. "We know what has happened in other states like California, New York, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, and we don't want that path here in our state."
Moments after he began, audience members started heckling the candidate.
"We don't want it," Avila said in Spanish, repeating his point.
"Speak in English!" a man in the audience shouted.
"I will. I will. I'll get to you," Avila replied in English.
Despite Avila's assurances, the heckling continued.
"Don't worry. I got you. I could also give you a little French," Avila said. "Je suis Bryan Avila. Je suis Cubain."
The joke drew groans from the crowd.
"But I'll go back to Spanish. Just for a little bit!" Avila said.
President Donald Trump endorsed Donalds for governor in May, calling him a "TOTAL WINNER" in a Truth Social post, the Washington Examiner reported.
The Sun Sentinel's editorial board called Avila "a genuine MAGA-style culture warrior" on the day Donalds picked him. The board pointed to his 2022 sponsorship of the "Stop WOKE Act," a law whose limits on college teaching and business diversity training a court struck down.
The board also wrote that Avila's "most obvious political asset is that he's Hispanic" and predicted that the fluent Spanish speaker would appear often on Spanish-language radio before Election Day.
"May our state remain strong, free and prosperous, and with your help, it will be," Avila said in Spanish as he closed his remarks in Kissimmee.
"But we need to talk to our neighbors, talk to our family, talk to our friends, and we have to elect Byron Donalds as our next governor of the state of Florida," he said.