Butler County Republicans were bursting with excitement and beaming with pride over news that President Donald Trump was coming to town.

“It's fantastic. It's a great honor,” said Butler attorney Tom King, who also serves as general counsel for the Pennsylvania Republican Party. “It's a wonderful tribute to the hard-working people of Butler County to have the president come here.”

Trish Lindsay, internal vice chairwoman of the Butler County Republican Committee, could barely contain her enthusiasm.

“I'm so excited,” she said. “It feels like a natural thing that he would want to be here, and we're going to give him a great Butler County reception. Everyone is thrilled.”

Few people are more supportive of the president than Butler County Sheriff Mike Slupe, a Republican. Just how pro-Trump? “100 percent,” Slupe admitted.

“To have President Trump coming to Butler County this close to the election is a great honor for the residents who were wanting the president to come to Butler County,” he said.

With just three days before the election, Trump is to appear for a campaign rally at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport in Penn Township.

“The president of the United States, the leader of the free world, is coming to Butler County,” said U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th. “He's a guy who said very clearly, America first, and in this case on Saturday, it's going to be Butler first.”

For Slupe, Lindsay and Kelly, the planned visit conjures up a bit of county history involving another presidential election — 60 years in the past.

“That's the last time a presidential candidate (to be elected) came to Butler County,” Lindsay noted.

On Oct. 15, 1960, just 24 days before he would be elected the nation's 35th president, U.S. Sen. John F. Kennedy, D-Mass., stood on the Butler County Courthouse steps speaking to the 8,000 people who jammed the sidewalks and spilled onto Main Street.

The Trump rally will likely top that crowd, and then some.

“I believe in my heart,” Slupe said, “that the residents of Butler County and elsewhere — because you know they're going to come from everywhere — are going to give this president a very warm welcome.”

Republicans cited Butler County as Trump country. As proof of that, they reference the 2016 election in which then-candidate Trump overwhelmingly defeated Democratic rival Hillary Clinton by a margin of 66 to 29 percent.

“Every single precinct in Butler County voted for President Trump in 2016,” King said. “I'm optimistic that every single precinct in Butler County will vote again for President Trump in 2020.”

Kelly said Trump has returned that support by keeping promises and working for the people. He said from cutting taxes to supporting veterans, Trump has focused on issues that Butler County residents care about, and he thinks county residents who attend Trump's rally will identify with those deeds, including supporting AK Steel through its troubles with overseas competitors.

“He believes in AK Steel, he believes in Pennsylvania, and he believes in America,” Kelly said. “I can't believe anyone would not be excited that the president is coming to Butler County.”

The rally here will be the final of three Saturday for Trump in Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state that has become the primary focus of the president's campaign.

The state also has drawn a lot of attention from former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential candidate.

“(Trump's) interest,” King said, “is because we have a lot of electoral votes, we have 20 electoral votes, and he won the state in 2016. And if it doesn't get stolen from him, we'll win it again in 2020.”

King has a familial connection to the Trump administration. His daughter, Emma Doyle, serves as first lady Melania Trump's deputy chief of staff for policy. She's held the post for about a year.

Before that, she was the chief of staff in the White House Budget Office for the first two years of the administration, and later was the White House principal deputy chief of staff.

Naturally, King will be at the rally. He's hoping to see his daughter there too.

On Thursday, Lindsay was busy doling out expedited VIP tickets for the Make America Great event to select local party supporters and workers, and other party officials.

“I think there will be masses of people going,” she said, “just because it is what it is — it's a MAGA rally.”