Fans of GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump will often tell you that part of his, er, …charm… is that he's not a political insider. Yet barely two weeks out from the election, his campaign schedule looks like it was mapped out by someone who knows what they're doing. As in: lots of stops in key Florida media markets and those of other important swing states.
He spoke at an evening rally in Tampa Monday night at the Mid Florida Credit Union Amphitheater, a venue visible from Interstate 4 . Winning over those who dwell along that thoroughfare is something of a political holy grail for presidential candidates.
Trump has rallied in the Tampa Bay area, the state's biggest media market, numerous times now (this was Trump rally number six for this reporter), but despite not doing so well in most recent polling of the nation's and the state's voters, Monday's might have been his biggest gathering here so far. The venue fits some 20,000 people including the lawn area, and most if not all the seats were filled with enthused supporters.
He didn't say anything new or earth-shattering, but he did offer some concrete policy proposals that made the crowd go nuts — after trashing his opponent and her allies, of course.
"This is a movement like they had never seen in our country before," he said at the beginning of his half-hour speech.
With two weeks left till Election Day, and a stack of controversies helping tank his poll numbers, Trump and some of his notable backers repeatedly urged supporters to get out and vote.
”If we show up, we win. Let me repeat that. If we show up, we win,” said longtime Republican activist Deborah Cox-Roush.
“We need everyone to dig deep in the next couple of weeks,” said State Rep. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, as supporters filed in. “Because, as usual, it all comes down to Florida. And that means it all comes down to you.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi was a surprise guest. It's been a while since she's stumped for him in Florida, given the whole Trump University thing.
She did kind of a children's storybook thing — reciting some Obama Administration policy position or another with which most of the crowd didn't agree and following it up with "because eight years is enough," the implication being that Clinton's presidency would be a continuation of Obama's.
Given Florida's status as the country's biggest swing state — with the I-4 corridor serving as more or less a bellwether for the rest of the state — keeping Tampa Bay's Trump fans stoked is likely crucial to the campaign.
While plenty of prognosticators say Clinton should have an easy time Nov. 8, there is still a chance Trump could win. His fans seem convinced that will happen, and there was no lack of enthusiasm Monday.
And even if Trump hasn't been doing well in the polls in recent weeks, his supporters seemed no less enthused about Trump's candidacy or appalled by his opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Ahead of the rally, a man from Kenneth City who did not give a name was wheeling around a large diorama of a witch doll, festooned with hair not unlike Clinton's signature 'do, locked in a miniature cage, an obvious reference to Trump's threats to jail Clinton if elected.
Trump's half-hour speech — past speeches have spanned about an hour — could, like others he's given, best be described as a red meat word salad.
He spent the first half of his time at the podium trashing Clinton as well as President Obama, to which his audience gave roars of approval.
"Real change comes from fixing our rigged and broken system," he said before interjecting his own speech about the size of the crowd — and accusing the media assembled at the center of the venue of not accurately portraying the size of said crowds. "These people are among the most dishonest people in the world."
After accusing Clinton of jailable offenses several times — she's "100 percent guilty" doncha know — he actually started to talk about concrete-ish policy positions.
"Our country…has never reached a lower point than we are at today," he said.
Among said concrete-ish proposals he would definitely carry out upon taking office: term limits for all members of Congress, a hiring freeze on all "non-essential" federal employees (you know— like climate scientists), requiring that regulatory agencies abolish two regulations for every regulation they put on the books, suspending the Syrian refugee program, a ban on lobbying for certain individuals, renegotiating NAFTA and getting out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (which Clinton has said she would do as well).
Best quote of the night:
"We're losing our jobs like a bunch of babies," he said while referencing international trade agreements.
As with most of his rallies, there was plenty of audience participation, from the usual chanting of "lock her up" to Trump's personal "Freebird": promising to build a giant wall along the US's border with Mexico without spending a dime.
Who's going to pay for it? he asked the crowd.
"Mexico!" they shouted in unison.
"One hundred percent," he said. "They don't know it yet but they're paying for it."
This article appears in Oct 20-27, 2016.