DORAL, FLA. (WSVN) - President Donald Trump has arrived in South Florida to finish a two-day swing through the Sunshine State by taking part in a roundtable in Doral, as controversy continues to swirl over comments he made about the upcoming presidential election.
The commander in chief, fresh off a campaign stop in Jacksonville, touched down at Miami International Airport. He spent the night at the Trump Doral, where a Latinos for Trump roundtable took place on Friday.
The roundtable came a day before Trump is set to decide who will replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Trump is trying to target Cuban Americans as his campaign attempts to clinch the crucial battleground state of Florida.
The president also revealed several campaign TV ads in Spanish.
Trump sat with a number of business leaders and a crowd of about 100 supporters. His focus was on the wall that is being build along the southern border as well as the work he has done in the past four years within the Hispanic community.
The president lost Miami-Dade by only 30 points back in 2016.
“Hispanic Americans enrich our nation beyond measure. They champion our shared values and embody the American dream — that’s what it is,” said Trump, “but Joe Biden has spent 47 years selling out to the different interests in Washington. It’s really sad. He sold out the Hispanic American community sending your jobs to China, making your communities less safe, attacking your religious values and trapping countless children in failing government schools.”
He continues, “The people that understand the border better than anybody are the Hispanics. They’ve had more support. When we build the wall, because they don’t want bad people coming into our country, they don’t want people coming into the country that are going to take their jobs, and they understand it better. I always thought it would be the opposite in a way. They understand what we’ve done on the border. We have stopped it, and you can come into the country, but you have to come in legally.
7News spoke with some of Trumps supporters about what it is that is drawing them to the president.
They said they like what he has done and that they fear the idea of socialism, which is what is pulling them away from the Democratic party.
“Before the pandemic, it was the lowest unemployment rates, the stock market went through the roof,” said Carinda Katz. “There was so many things that I can’t even name why I’m supportive of President Trump, but I think if we don’t have President Trump coming forward, we’re going to be in a lot of trouble.”
“It’s the way that he thinks, the way that he works,” said Carlos Rizo, ‘”the way that he attacks the same thing we saw as Cubans. It’s again the communist, it’s again the big government, it’s again the control.”
There was no mention of Barbara Lagoa, the Miami native who was on the president’s shortlist for the Supreme Court vacancy.
Both Trump and Biden supporters gathered outside the roundtable on either side of the street.
Things remained peaceful as both groups protested for their desired candidates.
Officers are on the ground to ensure the protests do not become violent.
“We want no trouble. We’re just here to support our great President Trump, and we always come here to support him,” said Angel Anguilar.
“Biden all the way,” said one Biden supporter.
On his way down South, Thursday afternoon, Trump once again cast doubt on mail-in ballots.
“We want to make sure the election is honest, and I’m not sure that it can be. I don’t know that it can be with this whole situation: unsolicited ballots. They’re unsolicited, millions being sent to everybody, and we’ll see,” he said.
Weeks away from Election Day, the president raised eyebrows during a news conference on Wednesday after apparently refusing to commit to a peaceful transition of power should he lose reelection.
A reporter asked Trump, “Will you commit to making sure that there is a peaceful transferral of power after the election?”
“Well, we’re going to have to see what happens,” Trump replied.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said he was not surprised by the president’s comments.
“What country are we in? Look, he says the most irrational things. I don’t know what to say about it, but it doesn’t surprise me,” he said.
The president’s remarks reverberated on Capitol Hill, prompting comments from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla.
“Whoever wins, my expectation is that there will be a peaceful transition of power,” said Scott.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell echoed Scott’s certainty about the election in a tweet. He wrote, “The winner of the November 3rd election will be inaugurated on January 20th. There will be an orderly transition just as there has been every four years since 1792.”
7News political expert Brian Fonseca said this election cycle shows the importance of the Supreme Court.
“What Trump is trying to do is muddy the waters in terms of what is a clear loss,” he said. “If it comes down — and again, we’re talking about a very close election — and Trump protests the fact that the ballot process was a disaster, which is what he’s saying, it might take the actual election outcome all the way to the Supreme Court. Again, the Supreme Court now matters and will make a final decision as to who wins the 2020 presidential race.”
On Thursday, the president signed an executive order to revamp part of the nation’s healthcare system.
Biden responded on Friday in a statement that read in part, “If President Trump succeeds, everyone who today has health insurance thanks to the Affordable Care Act could see their coverage ripped away. In Miami-Dade County, 36% of those enrolled in coverage through the ACA are Hispanic, the highest percentage of enrollment for any ethnic group.”
After he wraps up Friday morning’s roundtable, Trump is set to fly to Georgia to attend a day’s worth of events before returning to Washington, D.C.
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