There are days, and there are days.
The Monday before Florida's presidential primary was the latter.
Donald Trump was in town for a brief visit in the afternoon as part of a whirlwind tour of the Eastern Seaboard the day before several states weigh in on the presidential primary.
Trump faces three other dudes (Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich) and he is smashing them all in the polls. Thousands of supporters (and a bunch of protesters) came to see him speak and "answer" questions in a town hall style event at the Tampa Convention Center.
And boy, was it a show.
Where in the hell do we begin?
With the ejection of numerous protesters throughout the event?
With those surprise stump speeches from Sarah freakin' Palin and Chris freakin' Christie?
It's all too much, man.
Trump was scheduled to go on at 2 p.m., though he was over an hour late, just having flown from another event in North Carolina.
The line for attendees to get in formed early, and by the time doors opened at 11 a.m. it was looooong.
Dressed in camo head-to-toe, Spring Hill resident Peter Chianchiano was holding a Trump sign attached to an American flag pole near the front of the line. The Vietnam veteran said one key reason he supports Trump is his hardline position on illegal immigration.
“We have severe problems in the country with murders and rapes, which is the truth," he said. "I lived in Los Angeles and I used to campaign out there for the American flag, and these people would drive by and point guns at me. In our own country. It kind of woke me up.”
There was also a decent number of protesters.
Earlier in the day a group protested Trump's immigration policy positions, among other things, near the convention center.
Protesters also set up a piñata made in Trump's likeness, which was filled with Dum-Dum lollipops.
The crowd filed in shortly thereafter; the venue could only fit around a thousand people, so hundreds (if not thousands) of people had to be turned away.
As they filed in, a revised rally playlist eschewed Trump's former extensive list of Elton John tunes in favor of Billy Joel, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Johnny Cash and the Shangri-Las' "Leader of the Pack" wafted throughout the room.
Near the front row off to stage left, Dunnellon resident Velvet Lenier sat with family members eagerly anticipating Trump's arrival. She said she admires the man for his "courage," "strength" and "love for America."
Closer to center stage, Muriel Giorgi waited with her grandson, who drove her to the event all the way from Merritt Island.
“I like everything about that man," she said. "I like what he stands for, what he says, I believe everything that he says. ...To me he hasn't changed that much. He's always been forward, he says what's on his mind, and I like that about a person. None of this mamby-pamby politics. It's baloney.”
Working in Trump's famed slogan, "Make America Great Again," she said a spate of issues concerned her, immigration chief among them.
Then came Marine Kat Gates-Skipper, who is known for shattering gender barriers in the military (when she mentioned how the military used to be segregated by gender, a couple of people clapped). She encouraged the crowd to go to the polls tomorrow if they hadn't already.
“It's actually faster than going to the drive-thru at McDonald's,” she said.
The show came alive moments later when Gruters (who had alluded to a "special guest" possibly taking the stage) announced the next speaker: none other than former Alaska Governor and vice-presidential contender Sarah Palin, a Tea Party firebrand.
It was a total surprise; few, if anyone, knew she would be there.
She noted her husband, Todd, is currently in the hospital.
“Thank you guys for your prayers for my husband, who is recovering right now in ICU after a little wreck on a snow machine,” Palin said.
She criticized protesters who have taken to interrupting Trump events with messages of equality and social justice.
"What we don't have time for is all that petty, punk-ass little thuggery stuff that's happening," she said.
She introduced former Trump rival (and New Jersey Governor) Chris Christie, who endorsed Trump last month. Christie praised Florida Governor Rick Scott, who has yet to endorse in the primary (though he has publicly praised Trump). He, too, urged the audience to go to the polls Tuesday.
"I love the way the polls look. It's great to see our guy on top, but nobody can take anything for granted," he said.
Christie said the party needs Trump in order to take the White House in November.
"There's only one person left in the Republican race who can beat Hillary Clinton, and that person is Donald Trump," he said.
He introduced Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who made public her endorsement of Trump.
“As attorney general I look around this country and this world and it frightens me right now," she said. "And it should frighten all of us. And we care about protection and security of our nation. And we, right now, more than ever, we need to change the world. We need leadership.”
Like many other Florida Republicans Bondi had previously endorsed Bush, who hasn't been in the race for weeks (and in so many ways is a stark contrast to Trump; wonder what's going on here).
When he finally took the stage, Trump spent the bulk of his time stumping. The event had been billed as a town hall meeting, but he only took a handful of questions from supporters.
He had harsh words for all of his opponents, and talked about how the enthusiasm over his candidacy was changing the party.
“The biggest story in all of politics worldwide today is what's happening in the Republican party," he said. “I've never seen crowds like this. Like, ten blocks long.”
While he didn't have too much to say about his potential Democratic rivals, he had plenty to say about Rubio, Cruz and Kasich.
“I'm not going to say 'little Marco. I refuse to say it. I refuse to say little Marco,'” he said, adding that Rubio "defrauded" Floridians by rarely showing up to vote.
“When you get elected Senator from any place, whether it's Florida or anywhere else, you have to go and vote,” he said.
He referred to his "big, powerful hand,” a shot at Rubio, who weeks ago implied Trump has a small package because of the size of his hands.
Then came Cruz's turn.
“And Lyin' Ted. Lyin' Ted,” he said.
As for Kasich, who may win Ohio on Tuesday, he said the governor was vicious until Trump went after him during one of the first Republican debates.
“I hit him so hard that he never came back at me again,” he said, presumably talking to Palin. “Since then, Sarah, he's been a nice person.”
As for policies, the stump was a smorgasbord.that seemed to bounce among trade (we pity the person involved in a drinking game in which one has to take a shot every time he said "China"), Common Core (which Trump opposes) and immigration (he still wants to make Mexico pay for that border wall).
Perhaps breaking from his supporters some, he said he would impose a 35 percent tax on companies that send jobs overseas.
“Number one, they're not going to leave," he said. "Number two, they're going to pay a hell of a tax."
Chants erupted a handful of times, mostly toward the beginning of Trump's speech. Each time it happened, media and audience members seemed to brace themselves for a possible altercation, which never happened.
The last protester to be removed was well-known local progressive firebrand and writer Kelly Benjamin, who called Trump "a fascist" before officers removed him.
As for the "town hall" portion of the event, Trump responded to a few questions on the Mexican border wall (“Mexico is the new China, smaller version, okay?”), the Second Amendment (“In terms of second amendment you're going to be so protected like you've never been protected before”) and the race itself (“If we win Florida and we win Ohio, pretty much everyone agrees it's over”).
Perhaps the most interesting response to a question had to do with business tax; a small business owner asked him how he would help Congress pass bills that would better ease tax woes on small businesses.
"We're the highest-taxed nation in the world," he said (which is definitely not true). "Our businesses are horribly taxed. And that's why Pfizer...is leaving for Ireland. In all fairness to Mexico and China and all these other places I talk about, we're the highest taxed in the world. So I've put in a tax plan where businesses are going to be taxed a much lower rate. Where individuals are going to be taxed at a much lower rate."
In Florida, polls show Trump as the unequivocal winner tomorrow, though politicos — even Christie, for Chrissake — are aware polls are not exactly a divination.
Polling places throughout the state are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.
