Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NATCHEZ — Feb. 16 was a special Friday for Kevin and Dana Wilson of Natchez, who spent that evening at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, rubbing elbows with some political heavyweights at a cocktail party.

But that pales in comparison to meeting former President Donald Trump, speaking with him and taking photos with him before attending his political rally a little later.

“Gov. Phil Bryant invited us to go. He said President Trump was having a rally and wanted us to go down there with him. I told him yes, we would go. If I didn’t, Dana would have killed me,” Wilson said.

The Wilsons met up with Bryant in Jackson and flew with Bryant to South Florida.

“From there, they picked us up and we went straight to Mar-a-Lago,” he said. “The place is beautiful. Everything is gilded. We went to a cocktail party with lots of people you would know. Gov. Bryant introduced us to lots of people. We enjoyed talking to Tommy Tuberville, U.S. Senator from Alabama, and lots of other people.”

The Wilsons also spent some time with members of Trump’s family, who the two got to meet seven years ago at Trump’s inauguration in Washington, D.C.

After the party, the Wilsons were able to spend a few minutes with the former president.

“What really struck me is how cordial he was. And he looked great. What you see in the media portrays him as being orange or something. He is not. He looks great. And he is just as nice as he can be,” Wilson said.

Dana Wilson, particularly, enjoyed meeting former President Trump. However, she worried she may be admonished by his Secret Service entourage.

“I’m from the South, so I wanted to hug him. I’m a Southern Belle. We touch people. I kept putting my hand on his arm, but it was OK. I told him we pray for him every day,” Dana Wilson said.

“I don’t know what she said to him, but when she turned to walk away, he stopped her and said, ‘I like your style.’

“I told him, ‘I think you may be the only man in this country who can save it,” Wilson said. “He thanked me and I told him, ‘I’m not just saying that. I mean it.’ He grabbed my hand and shook it again. He also told me he liked my tie.”

Turns out, Wilson and Trump were wearing the same tie.