President Donald Trump held his first campaign rally since inauguration in Melbourne Saturday to an adoring crowd inside a hangar at Orlando-Melbourne International Airport. 

The crowd of about 9,000 cheered and chanted along with the president, whose speech tapped all of his "greatest hits," like deriding the dishonest media, but also some new topics. He again criticized the judges who blocked his Muslim travel ban, and complained that he "inherited a mess" from former President Obama.

The president promised a new version of the ban was coming in the next week. He also promised a new version of the Affordable Care Act would be coming in the next few weeks. 

The president also touted executive actions and a bill he's signed to roll back or freeze regulations. He said that will help bring companies back to America.

“They are going to have freedom, they are going to be able to build what they want to build, it will be environmentally friendly and we area going to have jobs like you’ve never seen," President Trump said. 

"In short, you want a government that can keep its promises, it's a new day in America and you're going to be proud again," Trump said.

The president has been trying refocus enthusiasm for his administration after reports of dysfunction. He insisted once again the White House was running very well.

"You've seen what we have accomplished, the White House is now running so smoothly," Trump told the crowd. 

As a consummate marketer, Trump used the rally, described as a non-White House campaign event, to help with that.

"Life is a campaign," he told reporters before the rally. "To make America great again is absolutely a campaign. It's not easy, especially when we're also fighting the press."

This is the second rally the president has held at Orlando Melbourne International Airport. He held one in September for a campaign stop before the election. Thousands were in attendance, and a large number are in the crowd right now.


A panorama showing the size of the crowd at President Trump's rally in Melbourne. (Eugene Buenaventura, Staff)

Supporters began lining up early Saturday morning.

My goal and my mission was to be the first in line at President Trump's rally," said Gean Huber, a Trump supporter.

Huber showed up at 4 a.m. Saturday for President Trump.

He's attended two other Trump rallies, but had never been first in line.

"I went to a rally in October when he was facing Hillary, then I went to the Thank You Tour in Orlando when he was the president-elect and now I am here today," said Huber.

Jennifer Koch was at the last rally in Melbourne last fall, and she loves what the president has done so far.

“You have to fight in what you believe in to Make America Great Again and to make our kids great and to raise up a nation that’s strong again and doesn’t cry because they lose,” Koch said.

Hundreds demonstrate outside rally

The president has also brought out a fair amount of protesters. Hundreds protested in a First Amendment Zone. Reports are there were also protesters inside the hangar where the rally took place.

At one point, police created a human blockade to keep protesters from Trump supporters.

“He’s not a good guy, he has lived in a world with blinders on, he doesn’t know about the rest of us. So we want to tell him, hey, there’s another point of view,” said Amber Storer, a protester from Rockledge.

Storer was at the Women’s March on Washington following President Trump’s inauguration.

“My big issue with Donald Trump is his travel ban and immigration," said protester Tina Rajasekhar. "Because America is a nation of immigrants. We would not be here, if we did not come from some place else and now he wants to restrict certain people from coming here.”

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