As Election Day draws to a close, former President Trump took a stunning road trip to ultra-blue California to highlight the state’s inflation, crime and illegal immigration.
Trump touched down in the Coachella Valley on Saturday afternoon to take on Vice President Kamala Harris on her home turf.
Voters in clear blue states turned out in droves, with Trump addressing the size of the crowd when he took the stage at 5:30 pm PST.
“We’ve had a great reception here. Look at this crowd,” Trump said, marveling at the crowd. “It’s like a record of things you can see.”
WHY TRUMP IS GOING TO THE ‘EAST OF THE KINGDOM’: THE STRATEGY BEHIND THE STATE’S BLUE STOPPING
Former Republican President Donald Trump spoke at a campaign rally at Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, California on Saturday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
WATCH:
Trump highlighted California’s failed policies, saying that “we have to make it better.”
“I stand before you today in the heart of the majestic Coachella Valley, to announce that the Republican Party will put America first and lead us to victory like we have never seen before,” he said. “Because we have become the party of common sense.”
The former president vowed to fight “hardworking citizens of every race, religion, color and creed.”
WATCH:
During the Trump campaign’s announcement that the former president would make a rare visit to California, spokesman Steven Cheung said it “highlights Harris’ poor record and shows that he has the right solutions for every state and every American.”
Trump highlighted Harris’ track record as well as Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in the state, promising to “save.”
Radical left democrats have destroyed this country, but we will save it…
“Radical left democrats have destroyed this country, but we will save it,” he said. “And we’re going to make it better than ever.”
“I came here not only to talk about California, where you have one of the worst governors in the country, Gavin Newsom, but you certainly have a terrible person – Kamala,” he said. “And now they want to destroy our country.
“They want to destroy our country like they did to San Francisco,” he said.
The crowd cheered as Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrived to speak at a campaign rally at Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, California on Saturday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump compared California to “paradise lost,” a transition spiel to the promise of a safe and secure southern border.
A closer look: FORMER PRESIDENT OBAMA SHOCKS HARRIS IN CLOSING
California is truly a lost paradise…
“California is a lost paradise, but we’re going to bring it back,” he said. “Don’t worry, we’ll bring it back. It’ll happen soon.
“We’re going to stop the killers from coming in. The drug dealers, all the people that come to California,” he said.
Former Republican presidential nominee President Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, California, on Saturday. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Trump reminisced about California in the past, saying it was a ‘beacon of what our country stands for.
“It’s weather, it’s water,” he said. “The country has the best schools, the safest communities, and a booming middle class, but all of that has been wiped away by decades of the policies Kamala Harris wants America to see today.”
The Republican presidential candidate points to the sky-high cost of living in California, the ongoing crime crisis and the ongoing illegal immigration crisis.
“Today, California has the highest inflation, the highest taxes, the highest gas prices, the highest cost of living, the most regulations, the most expensive utilities, the least homelessness, the most crime, the most decay, and the most foreigners. most illegal,” he said.
“Other than that, I think you’re doing pretty well, actually,” he joked.
WATCH:
While acknowledging the most important economy in California and across the country, Trump highlighted illegal immigration as a major issue for voters, saying the US is considered an “overrun country.”
“But now we are known all over the world as an occupied country,” he said. “We’ve got people taking parts of Colorado. We’ve got people taking other states, lots of states.”
Check out the FOX NEWS poll on the 2024 election
Trump promised to “liberate our country from criminals” and “save California.”
“To everyone in California and across the country, I make this promise to you. November 5, 2024 will be a day of liberation in America,” he said.
“We will free our country from criminals. I will rescue California in every city in America that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail or kick them out of the country,” he said. said.
Former Republican president Donald Trump’s Calhoun arrives to speak at a campaign rally at the Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, California, on Saturday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump pointed to Eduardo Sarabia, an illegal immigrant, who was recently jailed in Los Angeles after allegedly raping two women in a windowless Ford Transit van.
“He’s accused of brutally raping two women in the back of a windowless van that the police disgustingly described as, quote, a rape prison on wheels,” Trump said. “Detectives believe this monster has many victims.”
Former Republican presidential candidate Calhoun Trump spoke at a campaign rally at the Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, Calif., on Saturday. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Trump also pointed to Victor Hernandez, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, who fled his home country after committing a heinous crime and allegedly killing his Maryland mother, Rachel Morin.
“We have the strongest border in our country’s history. We now have the worst border in the history of the world,” he said.
CLICK HERE FOR FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS
“My message to the American people is very simple,” Trump said. “No man who perpetrates the violence and terror that abuses have inflicted on our country should ever be allowed to be President of the United States again.”
Trump promised that Harris’ “reign of terror” would end on his first day in office.
“Whoever orchestrates the invasion of America cannot lead America,” he said. “Kamala Harris, her reign of terror ended when I took office.”
Fox News Power Rankings (Fox News)
With time becoming a precious commodity for presidential campaigns in the final rounds of the White House showdown in a margin-of-error race with Harrismany are wondering why Trump stopped in a blue state.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
A stop at Coachella could benefit Trump with Latino voters – who have been trending towards the GOP in recent years – not only in southeastern California, but more importantly in neighboring Arizona and Nevada, two of the seven key battleground states that will determine whether the former president or Harris wins the 2024 election.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more in Fox News Digital’s election hub.
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
