President Barack Obama spent much of his time speaking on the economy and Mitt Romney at a campaign event Friday in Hillsborough Community College's Tampa Dale Mabry campus gym.

As he took the podium at the HCC gym, he tripped but did not fall. He made light of the incident by making fun of himself. He followed the gaffe by firing up the local crowd with, "I'm fired up to be back in Tampa, Florida." The crowd responded with one of the campaign's slogans, "Fired up. Ready to go.

Obama spent much of his roughly 30 minutes speech on the need for economic recovery in the U.S., saying, "It's up to you -- the people of Tampa, the people of Florida, the American people."

He also attacked Romney on his economic policies. "We do not need an outsourcing pioneer in the Oval Office," Obama said. For the second time after the comment, the crowd chanted "four more years."

Obama was referencing a Washington Post report Friday that the companies Romney's firm "owned were 'pioneers' in the outsourcing of American jobs to places like China and India. Pioneers!" 

The President landed in Tampa aboard Air Force One for his 4:15 p.m. speech. He began speaking around 4:17 p.m.

As the crowd waited for the President's arrival, Democrat U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schutlz mentioned Gov. Rick Scott, sending boos through the crowd. Mayor Bob Buckhorn has also spoken.

According to Tampa Fire Rescue spokesperson Milton Jenkins, the crowd at the event was estimated by a campaign official at 2,753 people. Obama departed Tampa on Air Force One just before 7 p.m.

College officials said it was an honor to play host to a President -- again. "We have hosted President Clinton, as well, so it will be our second presidential visit," said HCC's Ashley Carl. "But yes, they are two of our largest for sure."

Carl added that with both Obama and Romney focused on the economy, it makes sense that a community college is playing host to a campaign visit. "We have short term training programs which have been especially important with the economy and the downturn," Carl said. "People want to come back to school and get retrained because they're unemployed or underemployed and we can offer that short-term training."

Supporters of the President have also been preparing for his visit. The President addressed a packed house as all of the public tickets were gone in about five hours earlier this week.

"It's great that he's coming here and just showing Florida how much he cares about us," said Shannon Almadrones, an Obama volunteer. "And it's going to be nice to show him the support that he has here. We're just really excited about that."

Approximately 30 protestors were outside the event to speak out against Obama.

Obama addresses Latino leaders in Orlando

Earlier Friday, the President arrived at Orlando International Airport aboard Air Force One at 12:11 p.m. and headed to Disney's Contemporary Resort where he addressed the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) conference. Mitt Romney addressed the same group of Latino officials on Thursday.

The President focused his message to the Latino and Hispanic community at the NATEO conference in Orlando on Friday, as well, hitting hard with issues that hit home to them.

Obama spoke just under 30 minutes, citing his record when it comes to helping younger Americans, including Latinos, attend college through Pell Grants.

"If America is about anything, it’s about passing on even greater opportunity to our children,” Obama said. “It’s about education. And that’s why I expanded Pell Grants, which will give an additional 150,000 children in the Latino community a chance to go to college. That’s why I’ve invested in our community colleges, which are a gateway to a good job for so many Hispanic Americans, Americans of every stripe."

Along with education, the President referenced his work to assist small business owners.

"In this country, we believe that if you want to take a risk on a new idea, you should have the chance to succeed. And you shouldn’t have to have wealthy parents in order to be successful. Latino-owned businesses have been the fastest growing small businesses, and we’ve cut their taxes 18 times.  We’ve expanded new loans and new credit so they can grow and they can hire. That’s the vision we believe in," Obama said.

Obama said he would sign the Dream Act now if it was in front of him, and took no time to mention his opponents position on that subject.

"It's long past time that we gave them a since of hope,” Obama said. “Your speaker from yesterday has a different view. In a speech, he said when he makes a promise to you, he'll keep it. Well he has promised to veto the Dream Act, and we should keep him at his word."

The Dream Act would all the children of immigrants to live in the country if attending college, university or serving in the military.

There were lough cheers and applause when Obama spoke of the newly signed executive order allowing the children of immigrants to stay in the country if attending college or university. It's a temporary measure but one that was welcomed by most at the convention.

Stay with Bay News 9 today for LIVE coverage of the president's visit to Tampa throughout the day.