President Donald Trump will hold a rally and campaign for Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday evening in Tampa, Florida. Voters can expect much more of Trump on the stump as this year’s midterm elections get near, as Trump last week said he hopes to campaign “six or seven days a week” for Republicans in battleground states.
Trump carried Florida in 2016, and DeSantis has surged to a 12-point lead over his GOP opponent in the race to secure the party’s gubernatorial nomination. Gov. Rick Scott, who is challenging Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), has also opened up a three-point lead over Nelson.
Stay tuned to Breitbart News for live updates of the rally, which begins at 7 p.m. ET, throughout the evening. All times eastern.
—
8:13 PM: Trump says it’s important to vote against Democrats because they don’t care about drugs pouring over the border and “poisoning” children.
8:10 PM: Trump says he is standing up for the heroes who protect America and “our great national anthem” instead of apologizing for the United States. Crowd again chants “USA! USA!” Trump says the movement that got him elected may be the “greatest movement in the history of the country.” He says “we need more votes” and Republicans to keep the momentum going.
8:01 PM: Trump talks about the “Space Force” and says “we’re doing well” with North Korea. He mentions the hostages America got back and no nuclear weapons “flying over Japan.” He said when he first took office North Korea looked like “big trouble” but he thinks “it’s going to work out really well.” After talking about the Jerusalem Embassy, Trump wonders if the crowd can imagine “Crooked Hillary” doing what he did while the crowd chants “Lock her up!”
7:58 PM: Trump says Democrats will do anything to obstruct Trump on his Kavanaugh nomination to the Supreme Court “even though they know it’s wrong.” Trump says “we’re getting them through, but it’s not easy.” Trump says Democrats simply “resist and obstruct.” He says the one thing Democrats are good at is “sticking together” to obstruct his agenda.
7:53 PM: Trump says if Democrats had won in 2016, “our country would be going to hell” and the markets would be tanking. Trump now talking about withdrawing from the “job-killing Paris Climate Accord” and says the “beauty” of an individual mandate is now gone.
7:52 PM: Trump says he now knows everyone in Washington — from the good ones to the “scum.”
Trump says after he got to the White House after winning the 2016 presidential election, he turned to Melania and said: “Honey, guess what? I’m president of the United States.”
7:51 PM: Trump says he only cares about what happens in the US while the globalists care more about what happens in other countries. He blast the globalist “geniuses” who came up with one bad trade deal after another. He says these geniuses lost trillions abroad and gave us horrible immigration laws. He says America will be a puppet for nobody and his only special interests are the citizens of the United States.
7:50 PM: Trump asks the crowd if they remember the attacks on Christmas and says because of his movement leftists are not attacking Christmas anymore: “Now they’re all putting up Merry Christmas again!”
7:46 PM: Trump says Democrats want to “Abolish ICE” while brave ICE agents are trying to rid neighborhoods of MS-13 gangsters that are occupying them. Trump says he’s tracking down the gang members and child predators and throwing them out of the country. Trump says that in some states Democrats even want to give illegal immigrants the right to vote as the crowd boooooos.
“We believe that only American citizens should vote in American elections,” Trump says. “Which is why the time has come for Voter ID.”
7:45 PM: Trump says it’s a lot easier too act presidential than “to do what I do. Anyone can act ‘presidential.'”
7:40 PM: Trump blasts the “fake news” media’s “fake” “suppression polls.” Trump went off on “fake polls” after saying a police officer thanked him for making him look like a “financial genius” because his 401k account is doing so well.
7:36 PM: Trump says the days of plundering America are over. “America First,” he says. Trump says countries aren’t dumping too much steel… and if they do they are paying 25% in tariffs. He says American steel mills are “open for business” and steelworkers are now “back on the job.”
7:35 PM: Trump mocks the “fake news” and their dumb pundits for wondering where his supporters came from — Trump says they “came from the heart” because they weren’t happy with any political movement “until we came along.” Trump says our farmers, workers, and companies understand that we can’t keep building up China.
7:32 PM: Trump says it’s “finally time to rebuild our country” after the country has built up foreign nations. Trump says politicians pledged to crack down on “unfair trade” to get elected and then didn’t do anything. Trump says the United States will not be ripped off anymore.
7:31 PM: Trump says other nations are targeting America’s farmers because they know “it’s one of our great strengths.”
7:30 PM: TRADE: Trump says it’s now time to straighten out horrible trade deals during America’s booming economy. Trump would help himself immeasurably if he gave a White House address to the nation about his trade strategy.
7:28 PM: Trump tells the crowd that “America is being respected again!”
7:26 PM: Trump touts his economy and reminds the crowd that he asked black voters, “what do you have to lose?” Trump says the black unemployment rate has “reached the lowest level in history!” Trump also says the unemployment rates for Hispanics and Asians are at historical lows. Trump says the unemployment rate for women, though, is just the lowest in 65 years but will be the lowest in history soon. Crowd chants “USA! USA!”
7:25 PM: “They just can’t get enough,” Trump says of the “fake news” media in the back.
7:22 PM: Trump reminds the crowd he was “never off center stage” during the debates.
7:20 PM: Trump praises his son Eric and daughter-in-law Lara Trump. And he also introduces Ivanka. Trump then mentions that “Make America Great Again” will soon become “Keep America Great” for the reelection campaign.
7:18 PM: Trump says the only time he sees Bill Nelson in Florida is five months before the election. He is now asking voters to back Rick Scott. He says Nelson opposed “Kate’s Law” and backs sanctuary cities and is soft on criminal illegal aliens.
7:15 PM: Trump says Florida Democrats are “anti-ICE” and “anti-law enforcement” as supporters usher out a protester. Trump says “one person” but the headlines tomorrow will be “massive protests.”
7:10 PM: Trump reminds the audience of his “great victory” in Florida in 2016 and speaks about the thousands of patriots who backed his movement. Trump introduces DeSantis, who takes the stage. DeSantis hypes up Trump’s economy and says we have “strong constitutionalists” who are now being appointed. He talks about Trump’s pro-Israel policies and says Florida can’t go back to the days of Charlie Crist where the “good old boys run the show.” Crowd chants “build the wall” as DeSantis talks about fighting illegal immigration and “stopping sanctuary cities.”
6:59 PM: As Ann Coulter has noted, the crowds at Trump’s rallies aren’t chanting “Goldman Sachs!”
6: 55 PM: Some Trump supporters have been camping out for the rally since Monday afternoon, and the rowdy crowd has been heckling CNN reporter Jim Acosta and chanting “CNN Sucks!” while waiting for Trump.