WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Donald Trump is spending his 78th birthday being feted by congressional Republicans, who took the stage one by one Friday at a party in his honor in Florida to praise to the former president and rejoice in the possibility of him returning to the White House.
Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Byron Donalds, both Florida Republicans, helped energize the crowd of members of the “Club 47” fan club, who will hear Trump later at a convention center in West Palm Beach, just a short walk away. distance from the former president’s residence in Mar-a-Lago.
Before Trump took the stage, organizers brought out a multi-tiered cake as attendees released red and blue balloons. The cake had separate layers with a baseball cap with the slogan “Make America Great Again” and the Club 47 logo, an American flag, the phrase “Born in the USA on Flag Day.” (Born in the United States, Flag Day), a depiction of Trump playing golf, and the Oval Office with the gold frames common to many Trump properties, as well as Trump and Republican logos.
The cake was placed on a gold base and remained on stage until Trump’s speech began, at which time the audience sang “Happy Birthday” and chanted “USA! USES!”.
Mary Lou and Sue Reardon came to the event from the Villages near Ocala, about 240 miles (386 kilometers) northwest of West Palm Beach. Both wore T-shirts with the American flag and matching headbands with candles that said “Birthday.”
“We feel like he’s our last hope,” Sue Reardon said of Trump.
According to Club 47 president Larry Snowden, all 5,000 tickets for the event in Trump’s adopted state are sold out and cost about $35 each, while seats closest to the stage cost $60.
It was another strong show of support for Trump and came a day after Republicans in Congress sang their own rendition of “Happy Birthday” and presented the former president with cake and gifts during a Thursday visit to the Capitol.
AP
