Getty Mike Pence held a rally at a retirement village.
Vice President Mike Pence led rallies in Florida on Saturday, October 10, for his campaign with President Donald Trump. One of the Saturday rallies was held at a retirement community called The Villages and about 3,000 people attended. Read on to see crowd photos from the rally and learn more about what happened.
Pence held two events in Florida on Saturday. The first was called a Latinos for Trump event that took place in Orlando, and about 200 people attended, Fox 35 reported. But it was the second event that drew the most attention. This event was about an hour north of Orlando at The Villages retirement community, Independent reported. The Villages is a large retirement community home to about 117,000 people.
About 3,000 People Attended the Event at the Retirement Village
GettySupporters listen as Vice President Mike Pence speaks at a rally in The Villages, Florida on October 10, 2020.
Tim Murtaugh, the Director of Communications for Trump’s re-election campaign, shared on Twitter that 3,000 people attended the event.
3,000 people turning out for VP @Mike_Pence today at The Villages. https://t.co/I7C1Ji5Grq
— Tim Murtaugh – Download the Trump 2020 app today! (@TimMurtaugh) October 10, 2020
Below is a video of the large crowd packed together waiting for his arrival. Many attending weren’t wearing masks, shared Stephanie Buffamonte of Fox 35:
RIGHT NOW: A large crowd is waiting for @VP Mike Pence’s arrival in The Villages. Many are not wearing masks.
@fox35orlando
Josie Ensor of the Telegraph shared this next video. Ensor said the event took place at the largest retirement village in the United States.
At a Mike Pence rally in The Villages, Florida. I’d say about a quarter of people here are wearing masks. People have pushed their socially distanced chairs together. The Villages is America’s largest retirement village, aka the most vulnerable to Covid-19
Chairs were set up to be socially distanced, but the crowd pulled the chairs closer together and were all sitting very close, Independent reported. One person joked, “There goes social distancing.”
Not everyone thought the large number was a good thing. Eric Fiegl-Ding, an epidemiologist and health economist, wrote on Twitter that it was a “potential superspreading” rally with no social distancing. “The hypocrisy is damn rich,” he wrote on Twitter.
GettyVice President Mike Pence speaks at a rally in The Villages, Florida on October 10, 2020.
During the event, Pence said that he spoke to President Donald Trump before leaving, and Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were doing well.
GettySupporters cheer as Vice President Mike Pence speaks at a rally in The Villages, Florida on October 10, 2020.
Ensor said she asked people at the event if they were worried about COVID-19 and wrote: “One 70-year-old (in a face shield but no mask) told me: ‘I’m not worried about me, but I’m worried about other people here because obese people get it. I don’t hang around with overweight people so I’ll be fine.’
I asked people at the rally if they were worried about COVID. One 70-year-old (in a face shield but no mask) told me: “I’m not worried about me, but I’m worried about other people here because obese people get it. I don’t hang around with overweight people so I’ll be fine”
Here’s another photo from the event, shared by Steve Contorno of TB Times.
Pence from a distance talks to the crowd after the event.
Contorno said that no one was able to really move until Pence’s bus left at one point, so there was a bit of a bottleneck in the crowd after the event ended.
No one can move until Pence’s bus leaves so all these seniors are packed together waiting at the exit.
Pence talked about cutting taxes for the middle class, fixing “broken immigration once and for all,” and Trump’s pro-life stance. He also said that America was recovering from the pandemic and opening up again.
GettyAttendees listen to Vice President Mike Pence as he speaks at a rally in The Villages, Florida on October 10, 2020.
Pence said to the crowd at one point during his speech: “I like to tell people, all my heroes wear uniforms.”
Trump Has Several Rallies Planned This Week
GettyVice President Mike Pence speaks at a rally in The Villages, Florida on October 10, 2020.
Trump is currently planning a number of in-person rallies this week.
His schedule includes a rally Monday in Sanford, Florida. Then he is hosting a rally Tuesday at Johnstown, Pennsylvania, followed by a rally on Wednesday in Des Moines, Iowa.
The Sanford, Florida event is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Eastern at Orlando Sanford International Airport on Monday, October 12.
The Johnstown, Pennyslvania rally begins at 7 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, October 13 at John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport.
The Des Moines, Iowa rally begins at 7 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, October 14, at Des Moines International Airport.
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