FORT MYERS, Fla. — Democrat Andrew Gillum stormed through deep-red Southwest Florida on the eve of a visit from President Trump and managed to avoid discussion of corruption allegations by taking questions from people hand-picked by his staff at an event Tuesday night.

Gillum, the Tallahassee mayor who’s hoping to be Florida’s next governor, exchanged barbs with Trump on Monday after Trump called Gillum “a stone cold thief” for accepting gifts and money from an FBI agent posing as a developer.