I went to this past weekend's CPAC in Orlando, Florida.  It was a great spectacle that left me no doubt that the Republican base continues to love and support President Trump.

I arrived on a warm Sunday afternoon for the last day of it on, Feb. 28, 2021.  

My wife and I knew that the keynote speaker was the closer, President Donald J. Trump, and many of us wanted to show him our support as he arrived and departed the Hyatt Regency Hotel where the event took place.  

Here is my collage of some photos that I took.  

What did I see there?  I can say the atmosphere was festive and positive. 

There was the occasional (very rare) vehicle that drove by that was not honking horns furiously in support of President Trump.  But most of them were. 

This might be why one of the exceptions stands out in my mind.  That vehicle had a woman with a megaphone who was a Biden-supporter.   She was drowned out by boos and catcalls of "LOSER."

A Puerto Rican Republican at the event who was near us brought his wireless speaker and played music while the vehicles passed honking their horns and waving their flags.  Often, it was "YMCA," which got the crowd going.  

We saw people of many ethnicities there to support our president, showing that Trump's historic expansion of the Republican Party's appeal was sticking.  I saw Blacks for Trump.  Latinos for Trump.  Women for Trump.  And as you can see in one of the pictures above, there's a South Vietnamese flag, often used by Vietnamese-Americans (and some veterans, too).  Many people who've experienced communism, needless to say, support Trump.

Here are some:

And here's one of the cool things: this whole thing occurred in Val Demings's backyard.  You might remember her as one of the House impeachment managers from Impeachment 1.0.  

As for the haters who circles the outer edges: Black Lives Matter was present, and its memebrs had a "F--- Trump" banner to show their true colors.  But there was a black lady carrying a clever parasol-like banner that said, "Black Lies Matter."

Then there were two or three of the trucks with LED screens on the side and back that were anti-Trump.  It takes all kinds, right?

It was a beautiful afternoon, and one could tell that President Trump appreciated the turnout as he arrived in his limo.  Friends saw him waving as he passed by.  We were downstream of the crowd where he passed by, unfortunately.  But all told, it was a wonderful afternoon, friendly and happy, with so many people supporting President Trump.

Images: All photos by Brian Tomlinson.