No one revved up the crowd like agriculture security Andy Gipson. Tapping into his skills as a pastor, Gipson gave an intense speech decrying what he called the "woke agenda" and led the crowd in chanting "fight, fight, fight." "Fight" was the battle cry Donald Trump gave immediately following his assassination attempt.
"I'm asking you to stand, Mississippi," Gibson said. "Let's stand and let's fight. Let's end this liberal threat, fight this woke liberalism, take America back and make America great again."
House Speaker Jason White gave his first fair speech on Thursday. He praised Trump, but also spoke about some of his top priorities for the 2025 legislative session, like cutting taxes and expanding health care access. White said he wants to reach a compromise with the Senate and Governor Tate Reeves on expanding Medicaid coverage to the working poor.
"The direction we go with policy next session, to a large extent, will depend on the presidential election, who's sitting in the white House and who's running CMS," White said.
Reeves later told reporters that he still opposes any form of Medicaid expansion, but added that he appreciates White for advancing other conservative causes.
During his stump speech, Reeves reiterated his call for lawmakers to eliminate the state income tax. Reeves also told the crowd that a second Trump term would help supercharge the "momentum" Mississippi has due to economic growth and improved educational outcomes.
"With our support, Donald Trump is going to usher in a new era of unprecedented prosperity, and all of our lives will be better because of it," Reeves said.
After his speech, Reeves refused to answer questions from reporters about offensive comments Trump made about Vice President Kamala Harris' racial identity on Wednesday. Reeves said the focus should be on Harris' record as "the most liberal United States senator." Still, Reeves acknowledged that Harris will be more difficult to beat than Biden.
"If any Republican across the country is sitting somewhere today believing that we're not all going to have to work hard between now and Election Day, then they're thinking the wrong way," Reeves said.
