THE VILLAGES, Fla. — President Donald Trump came to the friendly territory of Florida’s retirement haven Friday for his first public event since an alleged assassination attempt against him, touting tax cuts for seniors and parading Dr. Phil on stage.

Trump quipped he wasn’t afraid for his safety at The Villages, a GOP stronghold where he enjoys widespread support.

“They want me to be in a secure place,” Trump told a crowd with members who had lined up for hours to see him. “I said, ‘What’s a more secure place than The Villages?'”

In a roughly hour-and-a-half, characteristically sprawling speech, Trump boasted that he had decimated Iran’s navy and military, bashed familiar targets from the media to “Sleepy Joe” Biden and heaped praise on GOP Florida governor hopeful Congressman Byron Donalds.

Trump told the crowd he had to take action on Iran, a position greeted with applause and U-S-A chants. He said he expects oil prices will come “crashing down” once the war ends.

“We cannot let lunatics have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.

Trump highlighted a variety of policies geared toward older Americans, including Medicare coverage for weight-loss drugs that will start July 1. He spoke in front of a banner that read, “golden age for your golden years.”

On the campaign trail, Trump had promised to eliminate all income taxes on Social Security, an appealing pledge for senior voters. But subsequent federal legislation, dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” by Republicans, did not include that provision. Instead, it created an additional, temporary $6,000 deduction for older Americans, lowering their taxable income. The White House estimates this will save the typical senior about $670.

With gas prices above $4 a gallon, Trump faces headwinds as midterm elections loom. He is polling underwater in Florida, a state he won by 13 percentage points in 2024, according to an Emerson College poll released in April.

That poll showed Trump’s job approval rating among likely Florida voters at 46% compared with 47% who disapproved.

Friday’s event marked Trump’s third visit to the mega-retirement community. Trump captured 68% of the vote in 2024 in Sumter County, home to most of The Villages. The rally, held just days after a gunman sought to barge into Trump’s Saturday appearance at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, featured intense security.

Thousands of people clad in red, white and blue waited hours in line to listen to Trump speak. Some wore T-shirts with Trump’s mugshot or the Gulf of America. One person’s shirt read, “Daddy is home.” Another carried a sign supporting the addition of Trump to Mount Rushmore. People started showing up to the venue the day before the rally. A few who were overcome by the heat needed medical assistance.

Once inside, the crowd waved signs that read “No Tax on Social Security” and listened to a classic rock soundtrack that spanned from “Sweet Home Alabama” to “Margaritaville” as they waited for the president.

Trump’s support in The Villages has not diminished in his second term, said Patti Goodson, 62, who wore a sparkly American flag dress.

“I would rate it an absolute gold star 10,” she said. “This term I think he had time with the break over those four years to get everything right. I am a huge supporter and in agreement with pretty much everything he has done.”

Villagers feel like they are “finally going to get a break” with Trump’s plan to lower taxes for older Americans, she said.

Although polls show Trump’s war with Iran is unpopular, with even many Republicans questioning the wisdom of the move, there was plenty of support among speech attendees here.

Republican U.S. Rep. Randy Fine said said Iran was a threat that Trump needed to eliminate.

“As bad as it is to pay an extra dollar a gallon for gas a nuclear bomb going off in The Villages would be a lot worse,” he said.

Gavin McKelvey, 27, an Air Force veteran from Ocala, also said he backed Trump’s decision to attack Iran.

“If my administration says that it was absolutely mandatory that we go into Iran because they are building weapons of mass destruction I have faith in the fact that they are not lying to me,” he said. “I truly believe if that is the case it is justified and it needed to happen.”

Several Florida Republicans facing voters later this year joined Trump at the rally. Donalds fired up the crowd ahead of Trump’s speech with U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson also speaking.

Television personality Dr. Phil McGraw also added his voice to the pro-seniors pitch.

Trump’s appearance sparked a political golf cart battle in The Villages earlier Friday, as previous appearances have also. Democrats held a protest about a mile from Trump’s rally. They displayed signs that read, “Our troops are not your toys,” “Hate will not make us great,” and “Stand up for Democracy.”

Wayne Carter, 62, of Tavares, said he joined the protest because he thinks Trump has promoted division and is making life harder for working and middle-class Americans.

“Our country is the laughing stock of the world,” he said.

The cost of gas and groceries is putting a squeeze on older Americans, and even in The Villages, people are making their voices heard, said Dana Dandino, 71, who has lived part-time in the retirement community for the past two decades.

“Before if you were a Democrat you were in hiding,” she said of the political scene in The Villages. “You didn’t open up your mouth. You didn’t say anything. Now flash forward 22 years, people are sick of it.”

But Josie Rotondo, 75, a Republican from Ocoee, said she is working to get the GOP out to vote in the midterms, and she’s confident Trump will deliver lower prices.

“We just have to be patient,” she said. “We have to trust in him.”

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