WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Donald Trump One by one, Republican lawmakers took to the stage on Friday to praise the former president and wish him well on what would have been his 78th birthday. Outlook He recaptured the White House at a party in his honor in Florida.
Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Byron Donald pumped up a crowd of “Club 47” fan club members who planned to hear Trump speak later in the evening at a convention center in West Palm Beach, a short drive from the former president's Mar-a-Lago home.
Before Trump took the stage, organizers brought out a multi-tiered cake and the crowd tossed red and blue balloons. The cake's tiers featured a “Make America Great Again” baseball cap, the Club 47 logo, the American flag, the phrase “Born in the USA on Flag Day,” a picture of Trump playing golf, the gold-framed Oval Office common to many of Trump's possessions, and the logos of Trump and the Republican Party.
It was placed on a gold pedestal and remained onstage until Trump began his speech, at which point the crowd sang “Happy Birthday” and chanted “USA! USA!”
Mary Lou and Sue Reardon, who traveled to the event from a nearby village of Ocala, about 240 miles (386 kilometers) northwest of West Palm Beach, both wore American flag shirts and matching “birthday” headbands with candles.
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“We feel like he's our last hope,” Sue Reardon said of Trump.
Club 47 president Larry Snowden said 5,000 tickets for the event in Trump's adopted home state have been sold out at about $35 apiece, with seats closer to the stage costing $60.
It was another strong show of support for Trump and came a day after Republican lawmakers sang their own version of “Happy Birthday” and presented the former president with cake and gifts during a visit to the Capitol on Thursday — a surprising show of loyalty to a former president who was shunned by many of his fellow lawmakers. After the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
The first former president Convicted of a felonyPresident Trump has strengthened his grip on his party's base and many of its elected officials as he is set to accept his party's presidential nomination for a third time next month.
Trump is also currently 81, three years younger than Democratic President Joe Biden, whose birthday won't arrive until after Election Day in November.
To mark President Trump's birthday, the Biden campaign created a list of “78 of President Trump's Historic Accomplishments,” including links to media reports of policy proposals including “cuts to Social Security and Medicare,” as well as Trump's term in office amid Republican losses in the U.S. House and Senate, and several references to his lawsuits.
“On behalf of America, here's an early gift for your 79th birthday: never be president again,” Biden campaign spokesman James Singer added in the birthday celebration.
Things were much calmer when Trump arrived in Washington to meet with House and Senate Republicans on his first visit to the Capitol since the riots perpetrated by his supporters seeking to overturn his loss to Biden in the 2020 presidential election. House Republicans sang “Happy Birthday” to Trump and presented him with the baseball and bat used in the annual Congressional Game.
The senators then presented Trump with an American flag cake with 45 candles in recognition of him being the 45th president, after which Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming added two more candles bearing the numbers four and seven.
“We're all committed to making sure he becomes the 47th president,” Barrasso told reporters later, adding: “I took them out and put them on while he was sitting there, and he loved them. And there was a big round of applause at the end when he heard it.”
Among the senators attending the rally was Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, who endorsed Trump earlier this year. Even though we're not talking Barrasso told reporters that Trump and McConnell had spoken and shook hands.
Snowden and other members of Club 47 said they expected Trump to speak about the ruling as part of his regular campaign messaging in New York. Trump's sentence is due to be handed down on July 11.
“Our people are anxiously awaiting his determination to move forward, and I know he is determined to keep moving forward no matter what the left in our country throws at him,” Snowden said.
Club 47 is based in Palm Beach County and says on its website that its goal is to keep Trump supporters “in our area” connected and engaged. Trump last spoke at the club in October, days after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
Lydia Maldonado, a local Hispanic activist who plans to attend Friday, said she frequently attends Club 47 events and found herself surrounded by a crowd wearing U.S. flag shirts, Trump 2024 merchandise and American-themed costumes.
Maldonado said the event is unique compared to any rallies or events held around the country featuring former presidents. He said he's excited to be at the event for Trump's birthday, but believes Trump will feel comfortable and familiar with the crowd because this is Trump's hometown.
“The purpose of this event is to let him know how much the people of this community love him and how much they support him,” Maldonado said.
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Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in Washington and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.
