TAMPA - President Donald Trump brought his "Make America Great Again" tour to Tampa on Tuesday, touting his agenda and promoting Florida candidates to an eager audience at the Florida State Fairgrounds.
Expo Hall's 8,000 seats were packed, with an additional 4,000 in an overflow room and crowds standing outside the building.
After greeting the audience and mentioning that he won the state of Florida by a little more than 100,000 votes, Trump introduced gubernatorial candidate and U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, whom he recently endorsed for the Aug. 28 GOP primary.
The Northeast Florida congressman implied that his campaign would mean an extension of Trump's policies, and he listed several of Trump's actions as president to audience applause, including having "the strongest economy we've had in years," moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and appointing "strong constitutionalists" to courts.
DeSantis is ahead of Agricultural Commissioner Adam Putman in polls. Statewide, 41 percent of GOP voters polled support DeSantis and 23 percent back Putnam, with 2 percent for Bruce Nathan and 28 percent undecided, according to a Mason-Dixon poll released Friday.
Trump said DeSantis was one of "two unbelievable people" running for office in Florida, encouraging the audience to also elect Gov. Rick Scott for the U.S. Senate, and to vote out incumbent Bill Nelson.
Trump mentioned a litany of his most popular talking points, from what he said was a war on saying "Merry Christmas", to the importance of standing during the national anthem, to building a wall along the U.S. southern border and deregulating businesses.
He called for stronger voter ID laws, telling the audience that you need an ID to buy groceries, but not to vote. (Identification is not needed to buy groceries.) He also received a standing ovation and chants of USA at the mention of Mike Pence going to Hawaii to receive remains of fallen Korean War soldiers.
Trump's speech was strong on trade and business, as he touted getting rid of "more regulation than any president in the history of the United States" and reversing course on what he said were disastrous trade deals implemented by previous administrations. He said, "after years of rebuilding foreign countries, it's time to finally rebuild our country."
"The United States was allowed to truly get ripped off," Trump said to boos from the audience, adding "But we're not going to let that happen; I'm not like other politicians," to audience applause.
"We've taken the toughest ever actions in response to China's abusive trade practice, and we're doing really well with China, and I have a lot of respect for China," Trump said.
He also said he believes Republicans are close to 100 percent on approving his Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Democrats want to obstruct the vote because they don't want Trump to have credit, even though they know approving Kavanaugh is good, he said.
He addressed the news media several times, deriding "fake news" to jeers from the audience. He also addressed his own role as a political outsider, saying "it's a lot easier to act presidential than to do what I do."
"I can be more presidential than any president in history, except probably Abe Lincoln ... I admit it, Abe Lincoln is tough," Trump said.
DeSantis' wife, Casey DeSantis, and Trump's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, also spoke before the president's speech, with Casey DeSantis touting her husband's congressional record and Lara Trump praising the president's willingness to subvert the expectations of Hollywood and the "fake news" media.
For many attendees, the excitement came after waiting and braving the rain for hours leading up to the rally. Larry Kestner, an 80-year-old attendee from Ellenton, arrived around 2 p.m. and waited in the parking lot with "one little umbrella."
He said he's been to many presidential rallies, but this was his first Trump rally, and he was "anxious to see how he connects with the people."
"Trump is the first person that's done what he said he's gonna do," Kestner said. "All the rest of them paid lip service ... but he's the one that said it and tries to do it."
Lisa Towell, a 56-year-old resident of Bradenton, said Trump has done "so much in such a little amount of time," and that she was excited to hear him talk about DeSantis.
"If Trump endorses him, then I endorse him," Towell said.
Connect with this reporter @SarahJarvisNP on Twitter and Facebook or at sjarvis@news-press.com.