TAMPA, Fla. — Vice President Mike Pence is visiting Florida on Thursday for Keep America Great and Latinos for Trump campaign events along the Interstate 4 corridor.
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Pence and his wife, Karen, arrived in Tampa in the morning and will head up the corridor to Kissimmee in the early evening.
His plane touched down at Signature Aviation at Tampa International Airport in Tampa at about 11:30 a.m.
Pence and Trump supporters were out as early as 5 a.m., including one man who said it was the 63rd political rally he had attended.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister greeted the vice president and his wife as they disembarked Air Force Two. Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is traveling with the Pences.
Pence visited New Tampa for the rally at the Venetian Events Center. Speaking to an enthusiastic crowd, he told supporters to keep that enthusiasm during the campaign.
"Tell (your neighbors) that America is safer again," Pence said. "Tell them America is more prosperous. We have an incredible story to tell.
"The American people got behind a president who made American great again, and we've got to do it one more time," he said.
The second half of the vice president’s swing-state tour continued in the heart of Osceola County in Central Florida, where he held a Latinos for Trump event at a Kissimmee church.
The church has anywhere from 400-700 members, depending on the services, with a large Latino congregation, according to one member of the Nación De Fe church.
"This is a bilingual church, so him being here is an honor for us," Randy Candelario said. "To have him to choose us to be here, it talks a lot about the president and about everybody who is around him.”
Protests in Kissimmee
A protest began hours before Vice President Pence took the stage Thursday night. Some Latinos said they’re disappointed with the Trump administration’s handling of Puerto Rico.
“Everybody understands why Vice President Pence is here. He’s pandering for the Latino vote,” Frank Rivera Martinez said.
Not too far from the church was another gathering, with groups like Poder Latinx, Pa'lante por Más and the Iglesia Episcopal Jesus de Nazaret.
These groups say they are not endorsing any candidates at this point, but they are asking the White House to provide immediate relief to Puerto Rico.
Father Jose Rodriguez with Iglesia Episcopal Jesus de Nazaret said, “The families on the island need to rebuild, they need equal access to the resources that they are due as U.S. citizens of this great country.”