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.”

Trump’s supporters got some expected, but welcome, news early in the evening, with his easy victory in Florida, giving him 30 electoral votes.

The Associated Press called Florida for Trump 1 minute after the polls closed. Shortly before 9 p.m. with most of the state’s votes counted, Trump had 56% of the vote to 43% for Vice President Kamala Harris.

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, would speak. There were dozens of television crews from around the world. An enormous “Trump Will Fix It” banner was mounted along one wall.

Tables were set with hundreds of hats emblazoned with “Make America Great Again” and “MAGA” for people to take on their way in. And many attendees lined up to have their pictures taken in front of a Make America Great Again selfie wall.

Many people were dressed in suits and dresses. Others wore their support for Trump on their sleeves, literally.

Jim and Darci Hatch, of Stuart, both were in their “Born To Ride for 45 Donald J. Trump” motorcycle vests and Trump hats. So was Larry Kosberg, of Delray Beach.

Bryan Travers, of Highland Beach, wore an orange and yellow safety vest like the one Trump wore in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Oct. 30, when he drove a garbage truck to draw attention to President Joe Biden referring to Trump supporters as garbage.

Travers’ vest proclaimed him “Proud MAGA Garbage,” with letters ironed on by his wife, Ashley Travers. She was wearing a denim jacket she’d blinged out with sparkly letters on the arms “Trump Fortyseven.”

The numbers signify his previous, 45th, presidency and the 47th if he’s elected again.

The Hatches said they’d been to many Trump events, and when they can’t attend in person, she said they watch 80% of them. “He’s real. We’re going to win. God has put him in place for this position,” Darci Hatch said.

Kosberg said he, too, was sure Trump would win — unless the election is somehow stolen, which he believes happened in 2020.

Video of Trump’s activities showed him speaking for about 15 minutes after voting and for about five minutes at the campaign office in West Palm Beach.

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.

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.

“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.

Trump 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 but said he’d be different, 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 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.”

Trump 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. Even so, Fox had the largest and most prominent position on the large screens showing cable coverage at the convention center rally. MSNBC and CNN were lower and smaller.

Trump 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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