President Donald Trump announced his official 2020 presidential bid at an all-day tailgate party called “45 Fest” in Orlando, Florida yesterday.
What We Know:
- The festival preceded an evening rally and speech from Trump announcing his candidacy, featuring a performance from Houston party band “The Guzzlers” and food trucks.
- Vice President Mike Pence and wife Karen introduced Trump’s announcement, celebrating Trump’s achievements to chants from the crowd. “America is back and we’re just getting started,” he said.
- First Lady Melania Trump and husband entered the stage to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.” Melania introduced Trump before he took the mic to “USA” chants.
- Trump’s speech intensely criticized the media and trends of “fake news” and celebrated his accomplishments of growing the economy through tax cuts and deregulation in office. He announced that his new slogan for his 2020 campaign will be “Keep America Great.”
- Trump anticipated the 2020 election will be a “verdict on the un-American conduct of those who tried to undermine our great democracy.”
- Many news outlets have fact-checked Trump’s speech, finding factual inaccuracies in his statements about Russia, Former President Barack Obama and the progress of his border wall project.
- Thousands of supporters camped out before the rally for several nights to ensure they would gain entry, estimated to have an 18,000 person turnout in the arena that has a capacity of 20,000.
Amway Center nearly full for Trump rally tonight in Orlando. Normal capacity for a basketball game here = 18,500 and for a concert = 22,000, per venue staff. Campaign estimates final crowd size will be somewhere in between. pic.twitter.com/gMdYZSRa3y
— Monica Alba (@albamonica) June 18, 2019
- Several protest groups participated in the Win With Love Rally several blocks away from “45 Fest,” a counter-protest to Trump’s campaign rally. The rally featured the famous Baby Trump balloon that has been spotted at protests around the Globe.
Trump’s rally and the festival mark what he calls a historical celebration of his time in office and exciting anticipation of what’s to come.
