Donald Trump Jr. fires up Tampa crowd

TAMPA, Fla. - Donald Trump Jr. visited Tampa Thursday to campaign on behalf of his father during a visit to Florida ahead of the presidential election.

Hundreds of Tampa Bay residents sporting red, white and blue strolled into Stepps Towing, eager to hear from President Trump's campaign during an event for his supporters.

“What made me draw toward him more was his views on businesses, tax breaks, things like that,” said Derek Plaster, a Tampa Trump supporter.

Among the speakers at the event were Florida state legislators, but the big draw was the president’s son, Trump Jr. The key message his campaign wants to get across to voters is the president’s values and his record.

“I think there’s going to be people that disagree, people that may not like the personality. But I think the personality is also why we’re getting things done,” said Trump Jr.

That is something that resonates with Trump supporters.

“Honestly, in my opinion, during his presidency, we’ve endured one of the toughest things we’ve ever endured at least in the last century, and for him to come through, I feel like pretty well, is definitely saying something,” said Kassie Plaster, a Tampa supporter of the Trump campaign.

It’s a historic election year in many ways as the United States battles a public health crisis, grapples with race relations and policing, and deals with a struggling economy. 

When it comes to battleground Florida, the Trump campaign is setting its sights on a win.

“We’re going to be all over the state. It’s a really important state to us obviously a state that’s near and dear to our heart,” said Trump Jr. “[We have] a lot of businesses here. My father is now a resident here. It was very important for us in 2016 and helped put us over the top, and I think it’s going to do it again.”

The resounding message from the event was the importance of the election and voter turnout. Trump Jr. said the campaigning will continue in Tampa this weekend.