FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Donald Trump returned to Palm Beach County on Tuesday, where he voted, told his staff the campaign was on the verge of victory, and returned to Mar-a-Lago to wait for results that may show if he’ll win another term as president.

“I feel very confident,” he said after voting in Palm Beach.

The former president, who used increasingly violent language about his political opponents during recent weeks, said he couldn’t think of anything he regretted about this third attempt at the presidency.

He won in 2016, lost in 2020, though he falsely claims he won, and is running again in 2024.

“Regrets. You always have regrets. I can’t think of any to be honest,” he told reporters after he and his wife, Melania, voted. “I ran a great campaign. I think it was maybe the best of the three. We did great in the first one. We did much better in the second one, but something happened. And this was the best, I would say this is the best campaign that we ran.”

Given that it’s almost certainly his last campaign, Trump described himself as “sad, and fulfilled.”

Trump said he would host “a special group of people” at Mar-a-Lago, his home and club in Palm Beach as he waited for the voters’ verdict.

He said he expected 4,000 to 5,000 supporters to gather for an election night event at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach. But he said he didn’t know when he’d appear at the rally, and didn’t know if he’d be declaring victory on Tuesday night.

He said he hadn’t prepared an election night speech. “If I win I know what I’m going to say. I don’t even want to think about the losing part.”

The convention center was readied for a large gathering. The stage was set with a giant American flag and 50 others behind the lectern where Trump, presumably, will speak. There were dozens of television crews from around the world — so many that power sometimes tripped off — and 10 bars.

On one side of the room was an enormous “Trump Will Fix It” banner.

Speaking for about 15 minutes after voting and for about five minutes at the campaign office in West Palm Beach, video showed he said he expected to win.

He attacked voting systems, which he claimed don’t produce timely results and suggested a nefarious reason. He falsely stated that few Americans use paper ballots, which he said could produce faster and more accurate results. In reality, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, a think tank at New York University, about 98% of all ballots in the 2024 election are being cast on paper ballots.

Later, he posted on his Truth Social site, claiming there is “A lot of talk about massive CHEATING in Philadelphia.”

On Jan. 6, 2021, Trump’s supporters descended on the U.S. Capitol and violently attempted to prevent certification of President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. Trump said there was no need to ask his supporters to avoid violence if he loses the election.

“I don’t have to tell them that. I don’t have to tell them that, that there’ll be no violence. Of course there’ll be no violence. My supporters are not violent people. I don’t have to tell them that. And I certainly don’t want any violence. But I certainly don’t have to tell, these are great people. These are people that believe in no violence,” Trump said.

For voting and the campaign office visit, Trump wore a blue suit and white shirt but not a tie as he usually wears. He also wore a red Make America Great Again cap.

Said he was gratified to hear that “the conservative lines, the Republican lines are very long” at polling places. He said he was asked to urge Republican voters to stay in line — using the phrasing “on line” typical of many native New Yorkers — to vote. “Democrats, if they’d like, they can leave. But I’d like the Republicans to stay on line.”

He’s known for his divisive rhetoric and threats to prosecute his opponents. He said he’d be a uniter if elected. “We want to bring everybody in. We want to be very inclusive and we will be very inclusive.”

He also criticized Oprah Winfrey, who endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama. “I think Oprah’s become a major divider in our country, and I think she should be ashamed of herself.” He also lambasted Fox News, which he said doesn’t deserve its reputation as being “pro Trump.” As evidence, he cited video of Winfrey he said the channel repeatedly aired Tuesday morning.

He praised two of his supporters, billionaire Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “He’s a great guy, RFK, and he’s going to do pretty much what he wants as far as I’m concerned.”

At both stops, he praised Melania Trump and said she’d done well with her recently released book. “She’s got the No. 1 bestseller. … So we’re very proud of the job she has done.”

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