MIAMI – Supporters at a watch party at Trump National Doral expressed hope that a second Trump administration could ease inflation, boost energy production and deliver economic benefits for retirees and seniors.
Marcy Garcia, a retired teacher, said she believes the solution to rising prices starts with increased oil production.
“Drilling the oil and the gas prices go down – I think that will help everybody,” Garcia said. She pointed to President Donald Trump’s promise during his speech: “I will also declare a national energy emergency. We will drill, baby, drill.”
Pat LaPomarda, another attendee, echoed the sentiment, saying energy production plays a key role in the economy. “Oil is baked into the cost of everything,” said LaPomarda, who works in the tech sector.
Garcia also praised a proposal she said wasn’t mentioned in Trump’s remarks: eliminating income taxes on Social Security benefits.
“That is not a charity. They pay for that. That’s your money and they’re not gonna have to pay taxes on that, so I think that’s gonna help a lot of senior citizens,” she said.
LaPomarda, meanwhile, expressed enthusiasm for a proposed mission to put a man on Mars. “I absolutely think we should do that,” he said. “If you think about it, why wouldn’t we want to expand off from this one planet?”
The event, held at a Trump-owned property, highlighted the family’s ties to local politics and development in Doral.
Doral Mayor Christi Fraga, who posted a photo with Trump earlier in the day, said she hopes to leverage those connections if he returns to the White House.
“We hope that it will allow us to ask for certain appropriations that will help the local community that we haven’t gotten before,” Fraga said.
Among other proposals that drew attention was Trump’s idea to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” and to establish an “External Revenue Service” to collect tariffs.
While Trump touted the measure as a way to boost domestic revenue, the Tax Policy Center warned that such tariffs could drive up the cost of imported goods, passing the burden onto consumers.
The Trump family also opposes a proposed incinerator project in Doral and recently secured approval to build 1,500 new condos in the area.
