ELECTIONS

Here's what we know about President Donald Trump's visit to Fort Myers today

Melissa Montoya
Fort Myers News-Press

President Donald Trump will be in downtown Fort Myers today. 

The campaign has been pretty tight-lipped about his travel plans and his time in Fort Myers, but here is what we know so far. 

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President Donald Trump supporter Christine Overhultz awaits his arrival at the Caloosa Sound Convention Center and Amphitheater in downtown Fort Myers on Friday, October 16, 2020.

Where will Donald Trump be? 

Trump will address an invitation-only crowd of about 400 at 1:30 p.m. at the newly renovated, reopened and rebranded Caloosa Sound Convention Center and Amphitheater in downtown Fort Myers.

The White House said the focus of his visit will be to "discuss his administration's continued efforts to protect the well-being of America's seniors."

The invitation-only event is unlike the last time Trump was in town, when tickets to his rallies could be easily requested.

Administration officials said guests would be seated six feet apart and that officials would "do our best to enforce social distancing." Guests were asked "to stay home if they felt ill and to wear PPE," personal protective equipment, which would also be available at the convention center, along with hand sanitizer.

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When is he expected to arrive? 

Trump is expected to arrive at Southwest Florida International Airport around noon. His time in Fort Myers will be short because he has a second event scheduled in Ocala at 4 p.m. 

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People first began to speculate about Trump's arrival due to a notice of restricted air space usually reserved for high level visits. Notice was later given to Southwest Florida International Airport that Air Force One could be there. Such VIP notices are not unusual to Southwest Florida given that prior to the pandemic Vice President Mike Pence has made annual pilgrimages to Sanibel for usually weeklong vacations.

What will the traffic be like? 

Traffic is sure to be affected as Trump's motorcade travels the 16 miles from RSW to the Caloosa Sound Convention Center.

Trump's motorcade has a few options for routes it can take once it leaves the airport. Routes could include zipping up the interstate, taking the scenic route through Gateway or driving through construction-riddled U.S. 41. 

Lt. Gregory Bueno, with the Florida Highway Patrol, said he could not disclose much information, but he did say FHP would be assisting with traffic. 

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How many times has Trump visited Southwest Florida? 

This will be the fourth time Trump visits the region since announcing his first presidential campaign in 2015. His last appearance in Southwest Florida was in 2018 when he visited Hertz Arena. 

All told, this will be Trump's 14th visit to Florida this year. 

Have other presidents visited Southwest Florida? 

Barack Obama was the last sitting president to visit downtown Fort Myers. That was in 2012 at what was then called Harborside Event Center.