Trump blasts Biden before thousands crowded together in The Villages

THE VILLAGES — President Donald Trump launched a barrage of complaints Friday against his opponent Joe Biden before a boisterous crowd of thousands of people packed on a field in The Villages, amid a final 11-day push to win Florida, known for its narrow election margins.

Fresh off Thursday’s night debate with Biden, Trump blasted the former vice president for his policies on fossil fuels, immigration and the coronavirus pandemic. He claimed he would win Florida — crucial for the president’s prospects of re-election — and the White House again on Nov. 3.

“All they talk about is COVID, COVID, COVID,” Trump said, “because they want to scare people.”

He said he would bring back an economy crippled by the pandemic. Playing off his longtime catchphrase, he declared, “We’re going to make America Great Again, Again!”

Trump made appeals to women living in suburbs, a group that polls show is supporting him in fewer numbers than in 2016, as well as seniors, who reside in the sprawling Villages retirement community, known for its golf carts and conservative politics.

Women voters outnumber men by more than 26,000 and make up more than half of the electorate in the community just north of Orlando. That has helped transform Seminole, a once-reliable Republican stronghold, into one of the most important swing counties in the country’s most important swing state during this year’s presidential election.

Trump joked he’d sell his palatial Palm Beach Resort Mar-A-Lago for life in The Villages and praised villagers for being “willing to get in fights in your golf carts” to support him.

He said he would always “love, protect and defend our seniors.”

In 2016, Trump carried The Villages and other Florida exurban areas by a wide margin over Democrat Hillary Clinton, helping him win the state. But this year, polls suggest that older Americans are not backing Trump nearly as much as they did in 2016, which could make The Villages vote the deciding factor in who wins Florida and its 29 Electoral College votes.

“The last thing he wants is a sort of fatalistic attitude from his supporters who think that maybe the election is doomed and they don’t show up,” Isbell said. “So going into these areas does have a degree of logic to it. Those areas are where a rally is better.”

The Real Clear Politics average of Florida polls on Friday had Biden with 48.9% to 46.8% for Trump, a statistical tie.

In a warm-up speech, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said a victory for Joe Biden would lead to nationwide lockdowns to combat the virus, and he offered up Florida as a model for the country, despite a recent surge in positive cases.

“We will not let Joe Biden lock this country down,” DeSantis said.

Later, Trump joked that “if we don’t win, I’ll never speak to him [DeSantis] again.”

The president blamed rising COVID cases in Florida on vast testing and chided the news media for reporting on total case numbers. But Friday, the Orlando Sentinel reported his White House Coronavirus Task Force told Florida this week there are “early warning signs” of cases increasing here and named The Villages among areas of concern.

The White House Coronavirus Task Force report, sent to states every week, summarizes case and testing trends but also shares a series of recommendations to the governors to mitigate the spread of the virus. Florida is among more than a dozen states to not make the report public or easily obtainable.

The pandemic apparently was not on the minds of many people packed on the fields and bleachers set up on the polo grounds of The Villages, home to more than 100,000 people.

Two hours before the event began, nearly every folding chair was occupied in the barricaded off a portion of the pitch. Much of the mostly older crowd sat shoulder to shoulder, and fewer than half were wearing masks.

Golf carts, some decked out in Trump signs and the occasional plastic skeleton, rivaled the number of cars arriving.

Diane Salutare, 62, and her friend Mark Wiley, 64, were among the early arrivals to the rally in a golf cart featuring a Trump cardboard cutout and a plush Wile E. Coyote wearing Trump’s face on a T-shirt.

Salutare said it was important for her to attend the rally after watching the final presidential debate the night before, which she said was “done in great taste and form.”

“[I wanted] to be part of this exciting time that we’re living in,” she said. “Even though we are also living in dire times, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Neither Salutare nor Wiley were wearing masks. Salutare said the virus didn’t concern her.

“If something’s gonna strike you, it’s gonna strike you,” she said.

Wiley said he approves of Trump’s policies but does not like the president personally.

“He’s a liar, he’s a misogynist, guess what? I am [too],” he said. “I could point to a lot of men over there that would tell you the same thing: When men get together after golf, it’s locker room talk. You cannot judge a man by the way he talks about women. You judge a man by what he does.”

Ed and Lil Muise, villagers since 1996, said they’ve seen their community get more liberal over the years as people from historically Democratic areas retire there.

“The people coming from New York, they’re moving down. Biden people,” said Ed Muise, 81.

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That has brought a marked shift of The Villages’ politics, which has changed drastically even since the 2016 election, the couple said.

“Once they find out what [Biden] can do, I think they’ll change. … Because of the pandemic, they’re moving down here because they figured it was safe, and they brought the virus with them,” Lil Muise said.

Biden criticized the president even before the rally began.

“Floridians deserve a president who understands this challenging time we’re living through, and has a plan to get us out of this pandemic and build back our economy,” Biden said in a statement. “Ask yourself: what exactly does Donald Trump bring to Florida today to help your family get through this pandemic?”

Though Biden supporters were scarce on the polo grounds, a single plane flew overheard early in the afternoon trailing a banner reading, “Trump will take away health care, Biden 2020.”

rygillespie@orlandosentinel.com; krice@orlandosentinel.com