People are lining up more than a day early for former President Donald Trump’s July 4 weekend rally in Sarasota, Florida.
Video showed parked vehicles and tents at the Sarasota Fairgrounds with flags boasting messages supporting the 45th president. Dozens of people were present when WFLA 8 On Your Side, a local NBC affiliate, reported on the gathering.
Sources told the Washington Examiner this week that Trump is holding the event despite pleas from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to postpone the campaign-style rally roughly 200 miles from the Miami suburb where an international search and rescue mission is excavating bodies from the site of a partially collapsed seaside condominium.
DeSantis’s team denied that the Republican governor, who is widely seen as a top 2024 presidential contender, signaled to Trump he wanted the rally to be called off.
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“Gov. DeSantis is focusing on his duties as governor and the tragedy in Surfside, and has never suggested or requested that events planned in different parts of Florida — from the Stanley Cup Finals to President Trump’s rally — should be canceled,” DeSantis press secretary Christina Pushaw said. “He wants all Floridians to enjoy the holiday weekend and celebrate Independence Day however they choose, while keeping the Surfside families and first responders in their prayers.”
The event will be Trump’s second weekend rally in a row after holding one in Ohio last Saturday. Trump is scheduled to speak at 8 p.m., and fireworks are set to start at 9 p.m.
“Look forward to the big Sarasota, Florida rally tomorrow night at 8PM!” Trump said in a tweemail on Friday.
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Tags: News, Donald Trump, Florida, Ron DeSantis
Original Author: Daniel Chaitin
Original Location: Trump’s July 4 weekend rally in Florida attracts crowd a day early
