Thousands of people gathered at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport for a rally late Sunday night. President Trump arrived at the event on Air Force One, about 15 minutes before Miami-Dade County’s midnight curfew.
Trump was greeted with “We love you” chants from the crowd.
“Thank you, and I love you too,” he responded. “We’re all in this together because as I’ve said many times, this will never, ever, ever be a socialist nation.”
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Throughout his speech, Trump emphasized Floridians going out to vote for him. He continued to stress the Republican argument against Joe Biden that appeals to many segments of the Latino voting bloc.
“We win Florida, we win the whole thing.” he said. “Our opponents want to turn America into communist Cuba or socialist Venezuela and we are not going to let that happen.”
Trump also touched upon another key point for his supporters — that he, in his words, doesn’t play by Washington’s rules.
“If I don’t sound like a typical Washington politician, it’s because I’m not a politician,” the president said.
Trump called Biden the worst candidate to ever run for president. Midway through his speech, Trump paused to play a video compilation of Biden, which portrayed him stuttering or mixing up his thoughts.
He also criticized former President Barack Obama’s efforts supporting Biden’s campaign. The crowd responded by shouting “lock him up.”
The president also took a swing at Biden’s plan for the pandemic.
“Biden’s cruel lockdown would be especially devastating for Florida’s tourism and hospitality workers,” he said. “For the service industry and for millions of Latinos in Florida, Arizona, Nevada, and all across the country. If you want a vaccine to kill the virus, a job to support your family, and freedom to live your life, then you have no choice but to cast your vote for a person named President Trump.”
Trump praised multiple prominent Republican politicians who were at the event, including Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio. He also shouted out Miami-Dade Commissioner Esteban "Steve" Bovo, a Republican candidate for Miami-Dade mayor against Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava — the race is officially non-partisan.
Bovo was met with the loudest cheers from the crowd, leading Trump to say, “you’re a popular guy Steve.”
One local politician at the rally was not a fan favorite — current Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez.
Gimenez attended the rally that directly defied the county's curfew — one of many pandemic guidelines still in place after the state's phase three reopening. Early in the event, he was met with chants calling to “vote him out” and “open up” the county.
Toward the end of his appearance, Trump once again brought up the alleged association between socialism and Biden. He called the Obama era’s negotiations with Cuba a “pathetic, one-sided deal with the Castro regime” and said he has aimed to do the exact opposite of what the former president did.
“My opponent embraces socialists and communists, because he has no choice, because that’s who he’s dealing with in government,” Trump said. “I stand with the proud people of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela in their righteous struggle for freedom.”
Trump concluded the rally by looking forward to another four years of presidency.
“The best is yet to come,” he said. “Proud citizens like you helped build this country and together we are taking back our country … with your help, your devotion, your drive we are going to keep on working, we are going to keep on fighting, and we are going to keep on winning.”
His last words, echoed by the crowd, were “we will make America great again.”
