Trump’s trip to The Villages is back on for Thursday

Sep. 27--The presidential visit to The Villages postponed in the wake of the El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, mass shootings in August is back on.

President Trump will speak about Medicare at an official White House event on Thursday, the White House said.

Sumter County GOP chair John Temple said the event will be held at 1:30 p.m. Thursday the Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center, the same venue as the planned August trip. That event was to be invitation-only, Temple said, and those with invitations from August will be notified about attending Thursday's event.

Trump postponed the visit, originally set for Aug. 6, after the twin shootings on Aug. 3 that killed a combined 29 people. Trump visited both cities on Aug. 7.

It marked the second time a scheduled Trump visit to Central Florida has been postponed or canceled following a mass shooting. A planned visit to Eatonville in February 2018 didn't happen after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

The event will also be Trump's first visit to Central Florida following the kickoff to his 2020 campaign at the Amway Center in Orlando, highlighting the importance of Florida to his reelection.

The Villages, a massive age-restricted community in northeast Lake, south Marion and east Sumter counties, is peak Trump territory, with Sumter County providing the president with 68% of its votes in 2016. The group "Villagers for Trump" has also held parades of golf carts in support of him.

Trump hasn't visited the community as a candidate or as president, though Vice President Mike Pence made an appearance in 2016.

According to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission, The Villages community development district also contributed $250,000 to help fund Trump's inauguration in 2017.

The event comes as Democrats in the House have launched impeachment hearings in connection with Trump's call with the president of the Ukraine. A memo of a call, released by the White House Wednesday, showed Trump asked Volodymyr Zelensky to "look into" potential 2020 rival Joe Biden.

All 13 Democratic Congress members from Florida now back impeachment hearings.

-- Politics News

DeSantis launches 'Presidential Protection Fund,' as Democrats play key role in Trump impeachment probe

By Steven Lemongello and Gray Rohrer

Sep 26, 2019 -- 4:00 PM

In response, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida GOP launched a "Presidential Protection Fund" on Thursday "to fight back against this disgusting attempt to overturn a legitimate U.S. election," DeSantis said, though the party did not say to what purposed any money raised would be used.

The Medicare-themed event will happen as Democratic presidential candidates continue to battle over their plans to expand the program to create either a public option, as former Vice President Biden is proposing, or a Medicare for All single-payer system as U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren propose.

"Nine in 10 seniors view the quality of their health care and coverage under Medicare positively," a White House statement said. "Others in the swamp want to take away seniors' choices and centralize more power in Washington with 'Medicare for All,' which runs counter to our Nation's commitment to Medicare beneficiaries."

slemongello@orlandosentinel.com

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