A weekend ritual for Trump’s Florida die-hards to get a brief glimpse of their political hero
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The sun was shining outside President Donald Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course on Saturday morning when Alan Mentser got a call letting him know that police were shutting down a road nearby. It was almost time to “show the boss a little love.”
Mentser, 65, and a group of hard-core supporters have spent years gathering at the same spot to welcome Trump when he comes to play golf, and they have the routine down. They monitor flight trackers to know when Air Force One arrives and traffic cameras to see if the presidential motorcade is on the move.
It’s an intense commitment of time and resources for a brief glimpse of their political hero. Mentser pointed to a gigantic banner showing Trump giving a thumbs up against an American flag backdrop. He said each one costs $300, and he has about eight of them.
But Mentser said it’s worth it at a time when supporters view Trump as a man under siege from his enemies and fabricated controversies.
“It might give him 30 seconds of seeing, ‘there’s my people,’” he said. “But that 30 seconds matter.”
Now it was time to do it again. The cue was a siren as a police vehicle blocked the road in front of the golf club.
“Here we go!” Mentser said. When he glimpsed the motorcade in the distance, he announced, “attention on deck.”
A member of the group switched the soundtrack on a portable speaker from country music to “YMCA,” the Trump campaign anthem.
The convoy of black cars rolled down the street and turned into the golf club. Trump was wearing his typical red “Make America Great Again” hat and white polo shirt, and he reached across his chest to wave to the crowd with his left hand.
“President Trump! We love you!” shouted Brady Collier, 31, who wore the same hat as the president.
It was over in less than 30 seconds.
A woman with white hair pulled up shortly afterward with her windows down and a dog in the passenger seat. She waved one middle finger at the golf club and another at Trump’s supporters. Someone called her a “baby killer” before she drove off.
The moment didn’t dampen Collier’s enthusiasm. Despite all the times that he’s witnessed Trump’s motorcade, he said “today was special.” This time, the limo seemed to roll slower and closer to the sidewalk, giving Collier a better glimpse of the president.
“There’s nothing cooler than that,” he said. “Other than Jesus Christ.”
Collier, 31, is from Indiana but spent the winter in Florida, where he’s doing landscaping and food deliveries. It’s also an opportunity to show his support for Trump as often as possible.
Jared Petry, 24, has been doing the same thing. He’s from Ohio and is one of the “Front Row Joes,” a group of superfans that traveled the country supporting Trump at campaign rallies. Petry was in Butler, Pennsylvania, last summer when the president was fired upon in an assassination attempt.
“I heard popping. I didn’t know what was going on,” he said.
Petry was near the front of the audience, and he captured video of Trump, surrounded by Secret Service agents, lurching to his feet and pumping his fist in the air.
“I knew he was OK,” he said.
Now, Petry is outside the golf course every weekend.
“He never forgets his supporters,” he said. “He waves at us.”
The group chatted about going to a nearby restaurant where Fox News host Sean Hannity is sometimes spotted, but something different happened this time. A group of staff members from the golf club came over to invite them in for a meal.
Mentser said that had never happened before. They ate freshly made omelets and blueberry muffins and walked out to the veranda, where they could see Trump playing one of the holes on his golf course.
The group refrained from trying to get Trump’s attention, Mentser said.
“You don’t want to have the president post on Truth Social that ‘I was lining up my putt and my supporters threw off my game,’” he joked.
The president later said on social media that he was playing in a tournament alongside Finnish President Alexander Stubb, and the two leaders talked about the possibility of the U.S. purchasing icebreaker vessels.
Inside the club, there was artwork that riffed on Trump’s mugshot from a criminal case in Atlanta and an Associated Press photo of Trump after the shooting in Butler.
The whole experience, Mentser said, was “tremendous.”
“It’s a small way for him to say thank you, I see you,” he said.
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