Vice President Mike Pence makes his South Florida debut – Sun Sentinel

While Donald Trump has been a frequenter of Palm Beach County so far as president, his second-in-command made his first trip this weekend.

Vice President Mike Pence had two planned stops on Floridas east coast: one in Jacksonville and one in Palm Beach.

But the Florida coastal journey was not a leisurely beach trip.

Pences visit came as part of a campaign to evangelize for a Republican-led health care plan to replace former President Barack Obamas Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

Before Pence joined Trump in South Florida, he and Gov. Rick Scott met with business owners in Jacksonville on Saturday to discuss the GOP bill. After, Pence was set to speak at a dinner at The Breakers hosted by Club for Growth, a pro-free market lobbying organization that has pushed against Obamacare.

Meanwhile, the president began the day in South Florida tweeting. His first came at 9:15 a.m., criticizing the "fake news" around his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Trump then continued to say Germany owes "vast sums of money" to both the United Nations and NATO.

Trump then headed to his Trump International Golf Course, having meetings and taking phone calls before returning to Mar-a-Lago for an intelligence briefing and a phone call with Brazils President Michel Temer.

He met Marvel Entertainment CEO Ike Perlmutter before a planned dinner with Perlmutter, his wife, Laurie, first lady Melania Trump, and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

Trump invited Pence to join him and his guests at Mar-a-Lago for dessert after Pences speech in Palm Beach.

Jim Litchell, a lifelong West Palm Beach resident, said he has enjoyed presidential visits, but is worried about the security costs and traffic congestion from White House stops.

It costs all this money and it hurts the county, Litchell said.

Pence is also scheduled to attend a worship service Sunday morning at Church by the Glades in Coral Springs before heading back to the nations capital, according to his official schedule.

But not everyone was welcoming to the countrys top two executives being in South Florida.

A few miles from Trumps Mar-a-Lago Club at a county Democratic Party fundraiser, ranking member of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said he has concerns about the visits to South Florida.

The president obviously spends a lot of time here and Im sure if the vice president wants face time with him, hes going to have to come down here from time to time, Schiff told the Sun Sentinel after the fundraiser. It will probably compound the traffic and other problems for people living here.

Joined by U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, a Democrat from Boca Raton, Schiff also said he was deeply disturbed by Trumps recent reiteration of claims he was wiretapped by Obama during his campaign.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Aric Chokey: achokey@sun-sentinel.com, 561-243-6531, Twitter: @aric_chokey

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Vice President Mike Pence makes his South Florida debut - Sun Sentinel

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