An attendee wears a hat in the colors of the U.S. flag during U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to Verst Logistics in Hebron, Kentucky, U.S., March 11, 2026. REUTERS Kevin Lamarque
On Friday USA Today reports President Donald Trump told the crowd at a Florida Republican stronghold that he felt safe there.
“They want me to be in a secure place. I said: ‘What’s more secure than The Villages?’” Trump said of the overwhelmingly-white retirement community known as The Villages.
The Villages is an age-restricted community north of Orlando, where Republicans vastly outnumber Democrats, reports USA Today. It was thus an excellent opportunity for the aging president to banter with Americans who fall into his own age bracket.
But not everyone was a fan, reports USA Today. Paul Hoecker, 76, was supposed to be at softball practice Friday, but since Trump won a second term, Hoecker says he increasingly has been compelled to publicly show his disapproval. Hoecker, an independent, said he had never attended a protest until recently.
“It’s gotten unbearable, the stuff he’s done,” said Hoecker, who USA Today described as a Navy veteran sporting a “grumpy old vet” hat as he sat in front of a golf cart parked with dozens of others at a demonstration organized by the Florida Democratic Party and The Villages Democratic Club.
Hoecker slammed Trump’s so-called “tax cut for seniors” as a big tax bill benefiting the wealthiest Americans.
Florida resident Dana Dandino had her own gripes, complaining about the recent rise in grocery costs and gas.
“People are not going to be able to put groceries on the table. It’s already happening,” said Dandino, 71, a retired teacher who slammed other Village residents as cushioned by their retirement accounts and Medicare and electric golf carts with no pain at the pump. Dandino said she and more thoughtful retirees are concerned about how Trump’s policies will hurt the economy, debt and spiking prices and the impact that will have on their grandchildren.
USA Today reports many aging protesters held signs with protest messages, including an “86 47” sign, as depicted in seashells on a post by former FBI Director James Comey — for which Trump made a point to prosecute him.
