- President Donald Trump on Saturday morning cast his early, in-person ballot at an
early voting site in West Palm Beach,Florida . - The trip would mark Trump's in-person early
voting experience in the Sunshine State since switching his residency there from New York in 2019. - First Lady
Melania Trump did not accompany Trump to the voting site. - Trump voted by mail in Florida for two primary elections earlier this year.
President Donald Trump on Saturday morning cast his early, in-person ballot in West Palm Beach, Florida, his first time voting in-person in the Sunshine State since switching his residency there from New York in 2019.
The president arrived at the
—Christine Stapleton (@StapletonPBPost) October 24, 2020
—Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) October 24, 2020
After voting, Trump expressed the sense of confidence that he had in the process.
"It was a very secure vote, much more secure than when you send in a ballot I can tell you that," he said. "I voted for a guy named Trump."
First Lady Melania Trump did not travel with the president for this trip. On October 20, the first lady skipped a Pennsylvania campaign appearance with her husband due to lingering coughs in the aftermath of her COVID-19 diagnosis.
—Mark Knoller (@markknoller) October 24, 2020
The president, who is embarking on a rigorous campaign schedule until Election Day, had rallies yesterday in The Villages, the sprawling central Florida retirement community, and in Pensacola, a city nestled in the state's conservative northwestern Panhandle.
At the Villages, Trump reaffirmed his decision to vote in-person for the general election, saying it was his personal preference.
"You know, those mail-in [ballots] ... I like being able to vote," Trump said. "I'm old-fashioned I guess."
Earlier this year, Trump voted by mail for two Florida primary elections.
Late last year, Trump, a native New Yorker, changed his official residence from his longtime Manhattan home to Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach. At the time, The New York Times reported that a confidant of the president said the move was made "primarily for tax purposes."
Trump has been a longtime critic of mail-in balloting, charging that the method is rife with fraud and openly questioning whether he would accept the result of the 2020 election if he didn't deem the process as fair.