Rhonda Rebman Lopez, chair of the Republican Party for Monroe County, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s been happening in the past few days.
Lopez was in Washington, DC, for the inauguration of the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump.
She said, “It’s been such a short week, and our president really hit the ground running. He didn’t waste any time to start doing what he said he would do and fulfill the promises he made.”
What was the inauguration like?
Lopez said, “It was definitely a beautiful event. It was so festive, and we really enjoyed it. My husband and I, that’s actually my fifth presidential inauguration that I’ve attended, and my favorite one so far, most impressive, one of the most impressive events would be Senator Rick Scott held the Florida Sunshine ball. That was a really beautiful ball. I attended several balls, and comparatively, that one held up against even the sanction balls. So it was great. It was beautiful and you could just feel the patriotism in the air when you walked through DC, it was just awesome. There were so many, many young people I noticed wearing Make America Great Again hats. I’m just thrilled that President Trump is back.”
What was the most memorable aspect of the inauguration?
Lopez said, “We went over to Georgetown for lunch one day to Clyde’s, which is a very old, established place in Georgetown, for lunch and it was full of young people, and I’ve never seen so many Make America Great Again hats in my life. These were people, 18 to 25 and I was very impressed, because that is the future of our nation, is our young people, and I think the young people are behind the president, and that speaks volumes. It really does. I lived in DC for four years, and Georgetown is still just such a cool place to go to and it was just awesome to be there. They still have Cafe Milano and Carrie Underwood was in there and having dinner one night, and we just had a grand old time. We really did. It was just wonderful.”
Was the inauguration on a big screen somewhere?
Lopez said, “I was actually staying at the Republican Party of Florida’s hotel headquarters, which was inside the perimeter that was the Marriott Marquis, and they did a really good job of having everything so that everyone could view it. It was just beautiful. It was wonderful.”
The emphasis the Trump administration has put on the military is encouraging.
Lopez said, “Oh yes, yes, my husband, very patriotic, retired fighter pilot, United States Navy, we attended the Commander in Chief’s ball, and it was just beautiful. The music and all of the honorees of the military that were there, it was outstanding. That was one of the balls we attended. I’m sure he enjoyed that a lot. His parents came from Cuba in 1961 and had to restart everything, their business and stuff and no one understands freedom more and has learned through growing up from what his parents told him and appreciates this country more than my husband.”
The Trump Act, a bill that deals with immigration, may have upset Governor DeSantis a bit recently.
Lopez said, “It’s no secret, we have the best Republican governor in the nation, and we also have, unfortunately, 1.1 million illegals in the state of Florida. I really think that the governor is being more assertive and more aggressive, and that’s what we need. I’ve compared the two bills, or whatever you want to call it, and the legislature’s seems to be a little more watered down. He’s being more assertive and aggressive, as the president is behind him. I anticipate President Trump coming out soon and giving his opinion on what’s going on, and that will probably be the difference.”
The Republican Party of Monroe County welcomes new members.
Lopez said, “There was an excellent meeting last night in the Upper Keys, the wives of one of the j6 people that was arrested and that was a great turnout, and that was very informative. So I am just very, very proud of Monroe County, because they really turned out to vote. Our Republican Party in Monroe County, I’ve never seen them more energized and involved from all aspects. That is just a tribute to all the hard work that the Republican executive committee has done to drive this get out the vote, and the involvement is incredible. Kudos to the leadership of that club, because bringing her in that was just amazing. We are very fortunate. We really bring in some great speakers and great representatives from all over the country. It probably doesn’t hurt that we have the best weather in the country. Let’s just remind people that our work is not done. We’ve got elections coming up for governor and other things quickly, in the next couple of years, and we need to turn out that vote for the those midterms, just as much as we did for the general.”
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