Edgewater, Fla.—It was Thursday of Daytona Bike Week, and Chris Cox was standing on a makeshift stage out in back of the No Name Saloon, a biker bar advertising cheap beer and a wet t-shirt contest.

Cox’s group Bikers for Trump was hosting a rally, ostensibly to promote the gubernatorial bid of local Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis. But DeSantis didn’t appear and his name was barely mentioned.

That’s because the bikers’ real purpose in holding the rally was to demonstrate their loyalty to President Trump. “The fact that Donald Trump has endorsed DeSantis is all Bikers for Trump needs to know,” Cox explained to the few dozen bikers on hand. “What I intend to do is simply to follow Trump’s lead.”

Following Trump’s lead has served Cox well. Three years after launching Bikers for Trump, Cox is attempting to transform the group into one of America’s most powerful grassroots political organizations.