With just 23 days until election day and the voters already casting their ballots, former President Trump returned to California on Saturday for a rally in the Coachella Valley.
The event is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the polo fields at Calhoun Ranch, located just outside the desert town of Coachella.
Trump’s visit to the home state of his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, gave him an opportunity to rail against the liberal policies of Bay Area residents and even California itself – one of his favorite bans on the campaign trail.
And the Coachella Valley, home to a booming agricultural industry and large numbers of Latino farmworkers, provided Trump with a backdrop to highlight the region’s water and agriculture needs, as well as immigration. Latinos comprise nearly 98% of Coachella attendees, according to the US Census.
The rally is located just outside the 41st Congressional District, where Democrat Will Rollins, a former federal prosecutor, is challenging Republican Rep. Ken Calvert. The region will be critical in determining who wins the seat, and potentially the party that can control Congress.
The visit marks Trump’s second trip to the Golden State in a month, after he stopped to talk to reporters at the Rancho Palos Verdes golf course in September in between two high-dollar fundraisers in Beverly Hills and the Bay Area.
Trump has announced that he will hold a rally on October 27 at Madison Square Garden in New York, another predominantly Democratic state. California GOP strategists spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the former president’s motivations, including the notion that he wants to increase his share of the popular vote — and despite California’s Democratic tilt, the house is home to more than 5 million registered Republicans.
Trump held a rally in Aurora, Colo., Friday – a state he lost more than 13 points in 2002. He has falsely claimed that Aurora has been taken over by Venezuelan gang members. He also paid a visit Friday night to Nevada.
On Thursday, speaking at the Economic Club of Detroit, he insulted the city and warned that it represented what would happen to the country if Harris was elected president.
“Our whole country is going to be like Detroit if he’s elected president,” Trump said. “We’re not going to let them do that in this country. We’re not going to let that happen.”
Democrats in Michigan — one of the states that could determine the party that wins the White House — were apoplectic.
“Detroit is the epitome of ‘grit,’ defined by winners who are willing to wash their hands to build a city and create a community – something that Donald Trump cannot understand,” wrote Governor Gretchen Whitmer on X, a social media site. known as Twitter. “So keep Detroit out of your mouth. And you better bet Detroiters won’t forget this in November.”
Republicans from the state were also surprised by Trump’s remarks.
“Michiganders haven’t been proud of the city of Detroit since Henry Ford put the world on wheels. Lions and Tigers are flying high, the city is coming back to life, and Donald Trump is coming to destroy all that progress,” said an angry GOP strategist who approached a Times reporter after hearing him say mentioned, and not named. speak frankly. “I think they won’t be surprised when they honor those comments by voting for Kamala Harris. And it’s not just the people of Detroit. It’s going to be hundreds of thousands of voters who are very proud of their city.
Harris said Trump’s remarks about Detroit are a trend.
“My son, Donald Trump, once again, has destroyed another American city while he’s in Detroit, which is just one more piece of evidence on a long list of why he’s unfit to be President of the United States,” Harris said. told reporters in Las Vegas.
Trump also criticized Milwaukee in a meeting with House Republicans shortly before the Republican National Convention was held there, in the battleground state of Wisconsin, earlier this year. He also despised Philadelphia and Atlanta, both of which are in states that will determine which party wins the White House.
