In Line Since 3:30 in the Morning: Daytona Beach Fills Up Hours Before Trump Takes the Ocean Center Stage at 7

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Hours before President Donald Trump is expected to take the stage at 7 p.m., the Ocean Center was already a scene on Friday afternoon, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported in live updates. The 9,300-seat arena opens its doors at 3:30 p.m. and the rally program begins at 5 p.m.; Trump is expected to stump for Florida gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds and U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody. The Federal Aviation Administration has issued temporary flight restrictions for a 30-nautical-mile radius around Ormond Beach Municipal Airport, where Trump is expected to land, from 5 to 11 p.m.

A few hundred supporters had already saved their spots in line before the gates opened. Annette Tsoukalas of Ormond Beach arrived close to 3:30 a.m. to be first in line, the News-Journal reported. 'This is my first Trump rally,' Tsoukalas said, citing the president's 'honesty' as her favorite thing about him. 'And he cares. He really cares about America.' Blake Marnell of San Diego, known as 'Brick Suit' for the brick-wall suit he wears as a metaphor for strong border control, was also in town for the rally and spoke with the paper about his support for the administration's immigration policies.

The politics around the visit are live as well. Democratic congressional candidate Bale Dalton planned to visit with Trump supporters waiting outside, his campaign said - 'He plans to greet President Trump's supporters and hear their concerns directly.' Dalton, a Navy combat veteran who served as NASA chief of staff in the Biden administration, faces Republican Ryan Elijah in Florida's 7th District, a race the Cook Political Report has shifted from 'likely R' to 'lean R.' Trump's remarks tonight file on this station once he speaks.