Indiana Governor Mike Pence made a stop in Miami on Friday night.
The running mate to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump spoke at the Lincoln Day fundraiser dinner hosted by the Republican Party of Miami-Dade County at the DoubleTree Hilton Miami Airport and Convention Center.
It was Pence’s first appearance in South Florida, and the vice presidential nominee sounded optimistic in front of a crowd of business owners, GOP political groups and supporters.
Early on, Pence joked he was “delighted to be the warm-up act for your keynote speaker” -- U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, who served as chair of the House committee that investigated the Benghazi terrorist attacks.
In his speech, Pence pushed attendees to re-elect Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, despite Rubio’s announcement Tuesday that he will not attend any Trump-Pence campaign events after Trump’s lewd sexual comments about woman surfaced.
“In the midst of daily and unsubstantial attacks against my running mate, it’s easy to lose sight that this election really is about the big things,” Pence said.
Overall, Pence seldom focused on his running mate and the allegations against him. Instead, he knowingly appealed to the room full of Republican donors and GOP student college organizations by focusing on job creation, and credited Gov. Rick Scott for his job creation efforts in Florida.
“When Donald Trump becomes president of the United States, he’s going to do the same kind of things Rick Scott’s done here,” Pence said.
He also focused a good deal of his speech on foreign policy issues. He reiterated Trump’s promise to reverse President Barack Obama’s Cuba policy “until we see real political and religious freedom,” and received a standing ovation. He also received loud applause for saying America would stand with its allies, including "its most cherished ally -- the Jewish state of Israel."
At the event, veteran advocate Jesus B. Riviera said he’s supporting the party that he feels will give veterans affairs the attention it needs.
“I would like to see more support in regards to not just advertisement, in regards to veterans, but actually being involved in veteran activities side-by-side,” he said.
Some attendees at the event brushed off Trump’s lewd comments about his advances on women, like Nicolle Perez, head of interns in Miami Dade College and an intern at Marco Rubio’s office in Miami. She said with less than a month away from the election, the timing of Trump’s leaked comments makes her skeptical.
“What concerns me the most is why these allegations were brought up so late into the elections and why they’re being brought up now,” Perez said. At the end of the night, she said she’s trying to avoid the political “ugliness” unfolding during the last couple months of elections.
“I’m sticking to my party,” Perez said.
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