Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) received a less than friendly welcome at former President Donald Trump’s rally in Conroe, Texas over the weekend.

Abbott, who has Trump’s endorsement for reelection this year, was booed by many in the crowd as he was announced to take the stage on Saturday night.

“Abbott sucks” and “You’re a RINO” could be heard in video clips that circulated on social media after the rally. “RINO” is a derogatory term in conservative circles meaning, “Republican in name only.”

Katrina Pierson, a former spokesperson for Trump’s 2016 campaign responded on Twitter, writing, “It was very awkward.”

While Abbott managed to snatch a coveted endorsement last June from Trump, with the former president praising him as a “fighter and a great governor for the incredible people of Texas,” his primary challengers this cycle have apparently eroded his support from the right.

It was very awkward. https://t.co/tflMhTjCvV

— Katrina Pierson (@KatrinaPierson) January 30, 2022

Former state Senator Don Huffines, who is challenging Abbott in 2022, slammed the governor at CPAC in July, calling him a “RINO.”

“We don’t have a Donald Trump as governor. We don’t have a Ron DeSantis as governor. We don’t have a William B. Travis as governor. Unfortunately, we’ve got a career politician that’s a political windsock, a RINO,” Huffines told the conservative political group.

Huffines has been attacking Abbot as weak on immigration, while former Florida congressman and chair of the Texas Republican Party Allen West has been critical of the governor’s handling of the southern border and Covid-19.

Politico noted in July 2022, that Texas “grassroots conservatives are still fuming over his [Abbott’s] initial decisions to lock down the state during the coronavirus pandemic,” which has given both West and Huffines an opening to challenge the governor from the right.

West, who topped Abbot in one January 2022 Republican primary poll, is trailing with a mere 6 percent in the most recent Dallas Morning News poll – while Abbott leads with 59 percent of the vote. Huffine received 4 percent of the vote.

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