Trump makes permanent footprint in Florida, gains further support in 2020

No matter the outcome of the presidential election, President Donald Trump made a permanent footprint on Florida. He got at least 1 million more popular votes in Florida than he did in 2016.

We looked at whether Trump’s influence on the Sunshine State is here to stay Thursday, and it’s a strong outlook, beginning with the strong support from Gov. Ron DeSantis. It goes hand-in-hand, since DeSantis is Florida’s governor in large part because of the president’s endorsement.

Across the country, Democrats believed they would win the White House and take control of the U.S. Senate. But that didn’t happen because Trump has changed the Republican Party.

Four years of negative headlines did not stop Trump from expanding his base across the country and here in Southwest Florida. Win or lose, 6 million more Americans voted for him the second time around.

“I think there’s probably a lot of skepticism whenever he first ran just because of his background and being a tv star,” Mark Balentine said.

Balentine came to appreciate the president. He started out as a silent trump supporter, but not anymore.

“He’s not the most eloquent with words. He doesn’t sugarcoat things,” Balentine said.

Jonathan Martin, the chair of the Lee County republican Party, agrees Trump tells it like it is.

“I think a lot of just everyday Americans didn’t trust that he was going to represent their needs and their concerns,” Martin said.

But now it’s undeniable the president changed the course of the party.

“I think that Tuesday was a great result to show that the melting pot of America, the state of Florida, the future of America, strongly supports our president, and we’re on the right track,” Martin said.

Martin told us, for the Democrats to take back Florida, the party’s focus needs to shift.

“It should be a wakeup call to the Democratic Party quit playing identity politics, and let’s start talking about solutions that are good for Americans,” Martin said.