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Outspoken conservative author Ann Coulter stopped in The Villages Saturday to sign copies of her latest book, drawing both fans and protesters who objected to comments she made about Israel during a recent Republican presidential debate.

Coulter's eleventh book, "Adios, America: The Left's Plan to Turn Our Country into a Third World Hellhole," focuses on immigration since 1970, particularly from Latin American countries.

In the book, Coulter attributes societal problems from children in poverty to Medicare fraud, terrorism and high school dropout rates to what she calls "unchecked immigration."

"She's a really smart lady," said Wanda Richards, of The Villages, who attended the book signing at the local Barnes & Noble on Old Camp Road. "And of course, she's conservative, and I'm conservative. I'm just really concerned about the direction the country's going in right now. I'm just hoping we get a good leader and get this country back where we used to be."

Coulter greeted people in line with smiles, posed for pictures and chatted with them about their hometowns, family members and preferred 2016 Republican presidential candidates.

Coulter is a Donald Trump supporter, she said, in large part because of his stance on illegal immigration.

Hank Smith, who bought seven signed copies of the book, said he enjoyed meeting Coulter and chatting with others standing in line with him.

He plans to give the autographed books to his friends as Christmas presents.

"It's clear, it's direct, she's to the point." Smith said. "And she does a very good job of explaining a lot about our country and our politics, and the people that are involved with it in a clear manner that makes it easy to understand."

As a line of Coulter's fans formed inside the bookstore, dozens of protesters gathered outside, waving American and white-and-blue Israeli flags.

They focused not on the book, but on a series of Tweets she wrote during the Sept. 16 Republican presidential debate.

Some candidates, she wrote, "Cruz, Huckabee, Rubio all mentioned ISRAEL in their response to: What will AMERICA look like after you are president."

"How many [expletive] Jews do these people think there are in the United States?" she tweeted, accusing candidates of pandering. That message garnered more than 2,000 retweets.

Coulter, who is accustomed to protesters, called them "phonies." She said she'd rather talk about immigration and other topics laid out in her book.

Steve Lowe, president of Temple Shalom of Central Florida, said a group of community leaders in The Villages read about the tweets and decided to protest Coulter's book signing.

"We just don't feel that we can tolerate any more of the incendiary racial and religious remarks, because they're so divisive to people," he said. "We, as Jews, will not accept it anymore."

Helene Ziegler, a member of The Villages' local Tea Party group, also was among the protesters.

"I am not a progressive liberal, I am a conservative," she said. "But I am a Jew, and I am an American. And both Jews and Americans won't stand for this kind of thing."

glotan@orlandosentinel.com

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Ann Coulter signs "Adios, America" books at The Villages ...