Villagers for Trump founder David Gee quickly fired his members up Monday night by reminding them that when they meet each month, it’s actually a rally.
Amid cheers and raised fists, State Sen. Dennis Baxley kept that feeling alive as he took the stage to thank members for their support.
“Good evening patriots!” the District 12 state senator said as he grabbed the microphone. “Are you glad to get your country back?”
Baxley said he considers the past couple of years under President Trump one of the most exciting times in American history.
“My mind kept going back to Jimmy Carter as president,” he said. “We were waiting in gas lines. Double-digit, 18 percent interest. And we were being told we all needed to do without. And America was pretty much over.”
But having Trump as president is much like the days when Ronald Reagan was elected, Baxley said.
“We got a new day, it’s another morning in America,” he said. “There’s hope again. There’s a sense of future, a sense of excitement. And I’m glad to be here for it.”
Baxley, who has been married to wife Ginette for 45 years, said it’s important to him to help shape a better world ahead for his five children and eight grandchildren.
“This is why we do this stuff, because we don’t know what kind of country we’re giving them,” he said. “I want them to have the America we were given.”
Baxley said the optimism and determination shown by Trump for Villagers is a good example of what’s turning the country around.
“I think a lot of people have been on their knees for a long time waiting for that window of opportunity,” he said. “We really needed a major disruption in Washington. It took a disruptive force and we didn’t know until we saw Donald Trump that he would be it.”
Baxley added that everyone at the meeting should remember one thing – Tallahassee is not Washington.
“First of all, did you know we passed a balanced budget”? he said to a round of applause. “We do that in Florida!”
Attorney general candidate Frank White, a state representative from the Panhandle area, kept the rally going by saying it’s a great time to be a Republican.
“We have unemployment south of four percent,” he said. “We have (North) Korea cooperating.”
White said he believes Trump is doing an excellent job leading America.
“We even have Kayne West wanting to be a Republican,” he joked, adding on a more serious note, “it’s a great time to be a Republican supporting the president.”
White, who also is chief financial officer and general counsel for the Sansing Dealer Group, which has auto dealerships in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi, said he is a huge believer in term limits for politicians.
“It allows you get to new blood, new folks in,” he said. “It clears all the dead wood – the people who become an institution, who are there for a job, a career and a life.”
White said when he saw that current Attorney General Pam Biondi would be leaving office because of term limits, he knew he had to run.
“That’s where I want to make a difference,” he said. “As a lawyer, it’s the dream job. And for me, it is a chance to defend our Constitution and to stand up for the rule of law. It’s about healthy neighborhoods and a healthy economy.”
White said if elected, defending the Second Amendment will be atop his priority list.
“To me, it’s the amendment that assures all of the other rights,” he said, adding that he’s proud to have the highest rating from the NRA of all the candidates running for the seat.
White added that he’s also a believer in life begins at conception, he looks forward to working with law enforcement to combat the opioid crisis and human trafficking, and he will do whatever it takes to make sure Florida remains free of “any of the sanctuary city nonsense.”
Finally, with rounds of cheers and applause still aplenty, author John Michael Chambers closed out the meeting with a synopsis of his new book, “Trump and the Resurrection of America,” which examines the huge setbacks the president’s upset victory has created for the “shadow government of this world.”
Looking ahead, Villagers for Trump is encouraging Republican Primary voters to hold group viewing and discussions of Florida’s gubernatorial debate in their homes on Thursday, June 28. The debates will be televised at 6:30 p.m. on the Fox News Channel and will feature the two Republican candidates, U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.
