President Donald Trump was greeted by a crowd of supporters in Florida on Wednesday.
Trump flew to West Palm Beach from Washington via Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
Video footage showed scores of Trump supporters lining the streets as Trump’s motorcade traveled from the airport to his Mar-a-Lago resort.
“For the most part, it’s just a somber but at the same time celebratory moment for us to welcome him back home,” Trump supporter Iam Hedendal added.
“President Trump knows we had his back from the very beginning, and he proved that he had our back.”
Lisa Beche, 53, a Boca Raton resident, added, “He is one of the best.” She gave high marks to his presidency. “For four years, we were listened to. We were heard.”
Thomas Burgess, 35, told the Sun-Sentinel that Trump’s presidency affected him personally. He said that because of Trump’s First Step Act, he was released from prison in 2019 after serving eight years for selling crack cocaine.
Roger Stone, the former Trump adviser who received a pardon while the president was still in office, joined the crowd.
Trump waved to people as the procession of vehicles moved slowly by the crowd. The pro-Trump crowd stretched a couple of miles before the bridge onto Palm Beach Island. It was two or three deep in places.
Trump was joined on the Air Force One flight from Maryland to Florida by his wife Melania Trump and his children Ivanka, Donald Jr., Eric, Tiffany, and Barron. Trump administration officials Dan Scavino and Jason Miller were also on board. The flight touched down at Palm Beach International Airport at 10:54 a.m.
Miller tweeted pictures of Trump supporters lining the road and later teased a 2024 run for Trump. Scavino shared video footage of supporters as seen from a vehicle in the motorcade.
Trump left Washington on Wednesday morning, skipping inauguration ceremonies for President Joe Biden, who was sworn in around noon. Every president in the past 100 years had attended his successor’s inauguration, according to the White House Historical Association.
Trump left a letter to Biden, which Biden described later as “very generous.”