Supporters Turn Out in Force to Give Trump a Warm Welcome as He Returns to Florida
As the sands of his presidency trickled away Wednesday, Donald Trump was treated to one last show of a street lined with flags and banners from loyal Americans who came out to see their president.
Trump left Washington on Wednesday morning and landed in West Palm Beach, Florida. From there, his motorcade took him to his Mar-a-Lago estate, where he has said he will live for now as he plans what comes next after a term in the White House.
The motorcade passed by hundreds of supporters who lined the streets to cheer him.
“We just wanted to show him how much we appreciate him,” Texan Anita Bargas told WPLG-TV.
Trump waved to those gathered amid a mixture of Trump banners, American flags and Make America Great Again hats.
That’s not slowmo, President Trump’s motorcade is slowly making its way east on Southern Boulevard to Mar-a-Lago. As he went by he was waving at supporters @WPLGLocal10 pic.twitter.com/Oc59AlsOuc
— Ian Margol (@IanMargolWPLG) January 20, 2021
Willie Guardiola, who organized the event, said it was important to show the former president he has supporters.
“I want President Trump to come through the motorcade in his beast like he’s done hundreds of times and really see these people,” Guardiola told WPTV.
“For the most part, it’s just a somber but at the same time celebratory moment for us to welcome him back home,” Trump supporter Iam Hedendal added to WPLG.
Many expressed twin loyalties to their nation and to Trump.
“We’re going to move on,” Boynton Beach resident Donald Tarca told WPTV.
“We’re going to not give up our fight. We’re going to not stop fighting for our country, because that’s what this is about. It’s our country,” Tarca added.
Donald Trump waved to cheering supporters in West Palm Beach, Florida, as the 45th president’s motorcade made its way to Mar-a-Lago.
The former president left Joint Base Andrews after delivering farewell remarks. https://t.co/P1MFEB3JVd pic.twitter.com/bHgHFPHlv5
— ABC News (@ABC) January 20, 2021
Some look to the future with skepticism.
“Let’s see what this new administration wants to do, wants to come forward and then we go from there. But unity has to come from true, true action,” Evelio Medina told WPLG.
…and this was the view from Pres Trump’s motorcade pic.twitter.com/XOxczeQA3e
— Tricia Flanagan (R-NJ) For U.S. Senate (@NewDayForNJ) January 21, 2021
Trump’s next steps are uncertain.
The Capitol incursion and his second impeachment appear to have damaged any hopes Trump might have of rebounding from his election loss and running for president in 2024.
Speculation has had Trump doing everything from forming a political party to creating a social media empire that can rally supporters for the future. Trump has made no definitive statement about his plans.
“I will always fight for you. I will be watching and I will be listening,” Trump said Wednesday as he left Joint Base Andrews for Florida.
“So just a goodbye. We love you. We will be back in some form,” he added.
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