Support for President Donald Trump was strong, and speeches were often colorful at my first political fundraising event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, a staunch Trump supporter, was the headliner at the Mahoning County Republican Party event at Waypoint 4180 in Canfield.

The crowd seemed to love everything being said.

The Mahoning County Republican Party has raised a lot of money during the past 18 months booking fundraisers with Trump loyalists including U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes, the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, and David A. Clarke Jr., a former sheriff of Milwaukee County in Wisconsin. The party picked up about $30,000 from the Jordan event.

Trump handily won Ohio in 2016 by 8.13 percent and became the first Republican since 1972 to win Trumbull County, beating Democrat Hillary Clinton by 6.22 percent. He came close in Mahoning County, losing by 3.28 percent. Those are two of the bluest counties in Ohio.

With the pandemic still going on, the crowd was limited to 300.

Also, there’s a state order requiring those at events such as these to wear face masks, and Waypoint had signs on the front door informing people of that.

Still, I was among a tiny minority who wore face masks at the fundraiser. People were freely mingling with one another without masks and seemed to show no concern about the virus.

COVID-19 was a topic for a few of the speakers, but with a dismissive tone.

U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Marietta, said far more important issues face the country than the pandemic, such as the presidential election and Trump creating the “greatest economy in history before COVID.”

He also said: “The biggest problem we’ve got in America is the national media.”

Johnson said: “They shape our lives, and we buy it.” The national media, he said, tell us who we can and cannot vote for, and they choose who sits in power in Washington, D.C., Columbus and even on the local level, he said.

He said this even though the president is a Republican, the Senate is controlled by Republicans, 12 Republican U.S. House members are from Ohio compared with four Democrats, the governor and every elected executive branch officeholder in Ohio are Republicans, and Republicans have super majorities in the Ohio House and Senate.

At one point, Johnson asked: “Is COVID real? Do you want to wear masks?” A decent amount of those in attendance responded: “No.”

Johnson assured the crowd: “We’re going to get through this COVID thing,” and “if you don’t want to wear a mask, don’t wear a mask” in defiance of the state order.

During Jordan’s speech, he said: “Democrats don’t want you, won’t let you. Won’t let you go to church, won’t let you go to work, won’t let you go to school, won’t let you go to the beach, won’t let you go to a loved one’s funeral and won’t let you play college football. But, boy, you can protest, riot and loot. Right? That mindset is what’s at stake.”

Of course, Trump was at the forefront of several speeches as this was a Republican event, and he’s the president.

Johnson praised Trump for not being fooled by China as every president since Nixon has been — adding that China even tricked Ronald Reagan.

State Sen. Michael Rulli, R-Salem, also criticized “the lies of mass media” and said Trump has turned the country around. He praised Trump while saying he was pleased the Republicans didn’t nominate a “milquetoast” candidate, specifically mentioning Bob Dole, Mitt Romney and John McCain.

Jordan also took aim at the media saying: “I know how the press attacks me, the lies.”

Democrats were also a target with several speakers — including those who only recently joined the Republican Party — who said the Democratic Party of decades ago is dead.

Jordan went so far as to say: “There is one party that is pro-American. Think about that, the sad state we are now at. The Democratic Party wants to undermine everything that makes this nation (the best).”

Skolnick covers politics for the Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator.

dskolnick@tribtoday.com