President Donald Trump officially touched down in South Florida early Monday afternoon, and first up on his agenda was meeting with local leaders at Hialeah's Bucky Dent Park to promote the Republican tax law.
Trump hosted a roundtable discussion Monday with local business owners, joined by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Labor Secretary Alex Acosta and Small Business Administration head Linda McMahon.
Republicans are placing their midterm election hopes on selling the benefits of the tax law to the nation. Last year, Trump signed the tax cuts into law, and he's still making his sales pitch on the motion.
WIOD was there, live. You can catch all of the action here:
During the meeting, Trump weighed in for the first time publicly on the upcoming Florida Senate race. Trump said current FL Senator Bill Nelson didn’t vote in favor of his tax plan. As a whole, he claimed Democrats are aiming to raise taxes.
Trump said tax cuts are fueling job growth. He noted that the tax filing deadline is tomorrow (Tuesday), and said taxpayers will have much simpler tax forms to deal with starting next year.
The Commander in Chief also praised the military following the U.S.-led airstrikes in Syria.
Trump said defense systems in Syria were completely ineffective. The airstrikes were a response to the deadly chemical weapons attacks that took place last year.
The U.S. blames Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has accused Russia and Iran of enabling Assad's regime.
Several protesters and supporters were gathered outside the Hialeah event, holding signs as they waited for Trump's arrival.
Some of the signs supporting Trump read: "Trump vs. Tramp" (regarding lawsuit filed by porn star Stormy Daniels) and "Comey Liar, Slimeball, Traitor" (regarding James Comey).
Trump has sometimes chafed at scripted events, deviating from the planned message to discuss whatever is on his mind.
Trump plans to host Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at his Palm Beach club, Mar-a-Lago, this week.