Trump Votes Early in Person in West Palm Beach, Says He Backed All Republicans

President Donald Trump cast his ballot in person on Saturday at an early voting site in West Palm Beach, Florida, as early voting opened across Palm Beach County, according to the Associated Press and WPBF-TV.

Trump and first lady Melania Trump voted together at the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections office on Cherry Road, WPBF reported. A pool reporter traveling with the president said the presidential motorcade pulled up to the county election office at 3:58 p.m. Eastern time.

Asked by reporters whether he had voted a straight party ticket, Trump, who was wearing an “I Voted” sticker, answered, “Very much so,” the AP reported. He said he had voted for all Republicans on his Florida ballot.

A shift from voting by mail

The in-person vote stands out because of how Trump has cast ballots in the recent past. WPBF reported that he voted by mail in the August primary, even as he has criticized widespread mail-in voting. CBS12 News reported that he also voted by mail in a March special election for Florida House District 87, citing county Supervisor of Elections records. Earlier in the day, CBS12 reported that a White House official had said the president and first lady planned to vote in person.

According to WPBF, Trump voted at a site in Palm Beach during the 2024 primary and general elections, when he was the former president. His regular Election Day precinct is the Mandel Recreation Center in Palm Beach, which is also one of the county’s 28 early voting locations.

Remarks at the polling site

While at the polling site, Trump once more stood by a television spot run by Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican nominee for governor of Ohio, the AP reported. That spot, which has drawn heavy criticism, includes an appearance by the estranged mother of Ramaswamy’s Democratic opponent, Dr. Amy Acton.

He also stood by the Justice Department lawsuit he directed over Alaska’s Senate contest, which asks a court to stop the state from certifying a loss by Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. The suit focuses on another candidate, also named Dan Sullivan, whose name is on the ballot, according to the AP.

On the war with Iran, the AP quoted the president as saying, “I may have to finish it off. Or maybe they’ll make a deal, but I’m not sure. Either way, we win.”

Melania Trump was asked whether she might travel to Ukraine. “We will see,” she told reporters, according to the AP.

Before voting, the president spent the morning at Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach. “I didn’t play,” he told reporters, WPBF reported. “I just hit balls for an hour, and I didn’t want to play.” Asked why, he said, “Because I’m too busy.”

On to Georgia

After the stop, the motorcade made the short drive to President Donald J. Trump International Airport, where the president boarded Air Force One for a campaign rally in Perry, Georgia, according to WPBF. He was then scheduled to return to the White House. Trump had held a rally in Fort Myers, Florida, on Friday afternoon.

What is on the ballot

The Trumps’ ballots include the newly drawn 23rd Congressional District, WPBF reported. In that seat, Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel is being challenged by Republican Deborah Adeimy, who works as a financial planner in West Palm Beach.

In the statewide races, the president is backing Republican Rep. Byron Donalds for governor, the AP reported. Donalds is running against Democrat David Jolly for the seat Gov. Ron DeSantis must leave because of term limits. Trump has also stumped for Republican Sen. Ashley Moody. She faces Angie Nixon, a Democratic state lawmaker, for the two years left in the Senate seat Marco Rubio gave up to become secretary of state.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.