
Max Maldonado
Multimedia Journalist
(561) 373-6160 // Maldonado.S.Max@gmail.com
So I went for a drive on November 4, 2020. No place in mind, no event I planned to attend. Just bored. I threw my car on the road and drove. Somehow just thought heading west was a good idea. That's how I ended up in the city of Okeechobee and was the accidental witness to one of the biggest pro-Trump parades I have ever seen.
Kids dangled off of Jeeps in their MAGA bests, flags the likes of "Trump 2020" or the more to the point "Trump 2020 Fuck Your Feelings" flapping off of big rigs, R.V.s turned into mobile political billboards, and spectators crowded in parks cheering "Four more years!" It was a sight to see, especially since it was one I just happened upon.
The parade made its rounds before emptying out of the city and parking along Lake Okeechobee. I, of course, was curious about the people and wanted to see more. I've always been interested in documenting. Walking in I knew I was the only blue dot in a sea of red, but walking around and talking with the parade participants I got to know them. No over-the-top arguments erupted over why they thought I might be a snowflake or why I thought their ideologies were backward. I just wanted to know who they were, where they came from, and why they loved the man in office so much.