Ron DeSantis, wife Casey, and children Madison, Mamie and Mason attended Patriot Night at the Reno Rodeo in Nevada on Friday. Along with the Florida governor and Republican presidential primary candidate was former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt. Laxalt chaired Trump’s 2020 campaign in Nevada, but he is backing his old friend DeSantis this time. He also heads up the pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down.

This weekend marks the first trip to Nevada by DeSantis since he declared his candidacy. He is the first-ever presidential candidate to visit the Reno Rodeo. His family is on the road with him. His wife Casey and their three very young children provide a classic all-American vibe of wholesome family fun. They look like they are having a good time.

I’m sure Trump will be trash-talking Laxalt in no time if he hasn’t already. Trump expects loyalty forever from people yet he shows very little loyalty to others himself. The Laxalt and DeSantis friendship goes back to their days rooming together during naval officer training.

Spotted alongside DeSantis at the rodeo was former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, a longtime Donald Trump ally who has defected to support DeSantis in the 2024 Republican presidential primary.

Laxalt and DeSantis roomed together while in naval officer training, and they have remained close friends through the years.

Both men were officers in the Navy’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps, and they served in Iraq.

It’s great to be at Patriot Night with the first presidential candidate to visit the Reno Rodeo, @RonDeSantis, along with @CaseyDeSantis and their kids! pic.twitter.com/erFoxDlSvJ

— Adam Paul Laxalt (@AdamLaxalt) June 17, 2023

DeSantis received a warm welcome from the crowd.

Ron DeSantis introduced at Reno Rodeo pic.twitter.com/Fy4drmRFFY

— Natasha Korecki (@natashakorecki) June 17, 2023

It is reported that DeSantis met with the rodeo’s sponsors and then walked to the bleachers, shaking hands along the way. Many people approached him for pictures before he was settled in his box seat. The kids wore matching ‘RD24’ navy blue shirts. Everyone wore jeans and cowboy boots. DeSantis told rodeo organizers that they wanted to stay for the duration of the event because his kids are big fans of bull riding, the finale event.

Earlier in the day, DeSantis and Casey stopped at VFW Post 9211, known as The Bunker, where they both got behind the bar and served beer to the veterans. They both enjoyed a beer with those in the room.

Today’s big event is the 8th Annual Morning in Nevada PAC’s Basque Fry. It takes place about an hour outside of Reno. Laxalt and other conservatives will join DeSantis, including talk radio star and Second Amendment advocate Dana Loesch and Steve Cortes, the national spokesman for the Never Back Down PAC which is supporting DeSantis.

The Basque Fry, a festival where fried lamb testicles are served among other foods, is considered a key event in the lead-up to the Silver State’s primary.

Also known as ‘lamb fries’, the dish is a signature one in Europe’s Basque culture, and the event, modeled after cookouts held by Laxalt’s grandfather, former Nevada Governor Paul Laxalt, pays tribute to the family’s Basque heritage.

The event typically draws thousands of conservatives, who come from around the state to have a ball.

This is seen as an encroachment into Trump’s territory by Team Trump. The Nevada primary will take place on February 6, one of the early primaries. Trump won the Nevada primary races in 2016 and 2020 but Trump lost the state in both general elections. DeSantis will headline the Basque Fry today. The question is whether he can make headway in the state. ‘Trump hasn’t won Nevada the last two go-arounds,’ Laxalt told NBC. ‘I was a two-time Trump chair. I don’t see a path for him to win Nevada in a general election.’

Trump’s team brought the snark.

Trump’s advisor LaCivita cast Adam Laxalt as a loser.

‘So Adam Laxalt, who lost the governor’s race in ’18 and lost the Senate race in ’22, is lecturing President Trump?’ LaCivita said. ‘That’s the pot calling the kettle black.’

Taylor Budowich, the CEO of MAGA Inc., the top Trump super PAC told NBC of DeSantis: ‘There’s no sign that he can win in any state.’

‘It’s evident in their kind of ham-handed approach,’ Budowich said. ‘They’re just largely spinning their wheels without articulating a path to winning a single state.’

MAGA Inc.’s spokespokerson Karoline Leavitt even mocked the pro-DeSantis Never Back Down PAC for advertising in the state, with it’s most recent ad highlighting the Florida governor’s participation in the Basque Fry.

Leavitt called it a desperate attempt ‘just to get people to show up for DeSantis’ events.’

One comment, in particular, brought a response from Never Back Down PAC’s communication director.

‘Not surprised Ron DeSantis is looking for a set of b****,’ Trump senior adviser Chris LaCivita told NBC News when asked about the Florida governor’s visit to the Basque Fry.

That comment didn’t sit well with Erin Perrine, the communications director for the pro-DeSantis PAC Never Back Down. ‘The Trump team’s obsession with men’s genitalia is more perverted than a woke grooming book,’ Perrine told NBC.

Yeah, it’s getting ugly out there. We knew it would – how could it not? There is a large field of primary candidates and Trump’s a street fighter. It’s going to be a long summer.