WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Donald Trump spent the day before his 78th birthday celebrating as Republicans in Congress sang “Happy Birthday” and presented him with a cake and presents. It was a remarkable show of loyalty for a former president who was shunned by many of the same lawmakers after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Trump will have another birthday celebration on Friday, this time with thousands of supporters in his adopted home state.
Members of the fan group “Club 47” will listen to Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida, a short drive from his Mar-a-Lago residence. The event sold out 5,000 tickets for about $35 each, while seats closer to the stage cost $60, according to Club 47 president Larry Snowden.
Weeks after becoming the first former president to be convicted of a crime, Trump has tightened his grip on much of his party’s base and elected officials. Next month he will accept his party’s presidential nomination for the third time.
Trump is now three years younger than the Democratic president Joe Bidenwho is 81.
To celebrate his general election rival’s birthday, Biden’s campaign compiled a list of “78 of Trump’s historic… ‘accomplishments,'” with links to media coverage of policy proposals including “cutting Social Security and health care’, Trump’s presidency during the losses of the Republican Party in the United States. the US House and Senate and a number of references to his lawsuits.
“On behalf of America, our early gift at your 79th: ensuring you never become president again,” Biden campaign spokesman James Singer added to the birthday wishes.
Trump was in Washington on Thursday to meet with House and Senate Republicans in his first visit to Capitol Hill since the riot, which was carried out by Trump supporters seeking to overturn his 2020 loss to Biden. A room full of Republicans in the House of Representatives sang “Happy Birthday” to Trump and presented him with a baseball and bat from the annual congressional game.
Senators later presented an American flag cake with 45 candles, referencing the fact that Trump was the 45th president. Sen. Johannes Barrasso from Wyoming then added two more candles with the numbers 4 and 7.
“We all want to make sure he becomes the 47th president,” Barrasso later told reporters, adding: “As he was sitting there, I take them out and put them on. He loved it. And that was the last big applause. at the end when you heard that.
Among the senators attending the meeting was Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who endorsed Trump earlier this year despite not having spoken since 2020. Barrasso told reporters that Trump and McConnell spoke and exchanged a fist bump.
Snowden, the president of Club 47, and others said they expect Trump to talk about the verdict in New York as part of his regular campaign message. Trump will be sentenced on July 11.
“Our people are eager to hear him express his commitment to moving forward. I know he is determined to keep moving forward, no matter what the left of our country throws at him,” Snowden said.
Club 47 is based in Palm Beach County and says on its website that the club’s goal is to keep Trump supporters “connected and engaged” in our area. Trump last spoke to the club in October, days after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
Lydia Maldonado, a local Hispanic activist who plans to attend Friday, said she has regularly attended events at Club 47 and been surrounded by a crowd decorated in American flag shirts, Trump 2024 gear and American-themed costumes.
Maldonado said this event is unique compared to any national gathering or event featuring the former president. Maldonado said she is excited to be at an event for Trump’s birthday, but she also thinks Trump feels comfortable and familiar with this crowd since it is his hometown.
“The purpose of this event is really to let him know how much the community here loves him and how much the community supports him,” Maldonado said.
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Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in Washington and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.
