With Election Day Lately, former President Trump made a surprise detour to ultra-blue California to highlight the state's sky-high inflation, crime and illegal immigration.
Trump descended on the Coachella Valley on Saturday night to face Vice President Kamala Harris on her home turf.
Voters in decidedly blue states turned out in droves, with Trump commenting on the size of the crowd when he took the stage at 5:30 p.m. PST.
“We had a great reception here. Look at this crowd,” Trump marveled at the crowd. “It’s like a record as far as the eye can see.”
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Former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, California, on Saturday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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Trump pointed to California's failed policy, saying “we have to do better.”
“I stand before you today, in the center of the majestic Coachella Valley, to declare that the Republican Party will always put America first and lead us to victories like you have never seen before,” he said. “Because we have become a common sense team.”
The former president promised that he would fight for “working citizens of all races, religions, castes and creeds”.
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When Trump's campaign announced that the former president would make a rare visit to California, spokesman Steven Cheung said it was to “highlight Harris' poor record and show that he has the right solutions for every state and every American.” .
Trump also highlighted Harris Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom's record in the state, promising to “preserve it.”
The far-left Democrats destroyed this state, but we will save it…
“The far-left Democrats destroyed this state, but we will save it,” he said. “And we’re going to make it better than ever.”
“I'm here today not only to talk about California, where you have one of the worst governors in the country, Gavin Newsom, but there was definitely someone here who was horrible — orange,” he said. “And now he wants to destroy our country.
“He wants to destroy our country like San Francisco,” he said.
Attendees cheer as former Republican President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, California, on Saturday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump compared California to a “people's paradise,” turning it into a safe and secure southern border.
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California is truly a lost paradise…
“California really lost a paradise, but we’re going to bring it back,” he said. “Don't worry about that. We're bringing it back. This will happen quickly.
“We will stop the killers from coming. The drug dealers, everyone is coming to California,” he said.
Former Republican presidential candidate Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, California, on Saturday. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Trump recalled This is what California used. Regardless, he says it was “a beacon of what our country aspires to be.”
“I had time, I had water,” he said. “The state had the best schools, the safest communities, and a thriving middle class, but all of that was wiped out by decades of policies that Kamala Harris now wants to impose on America.”
The Republican presidential candidate points to California's sky-high cost of living, ongoing crime crisis and ongoing illegal immigration crisis.
“California today has the highest inflation, the highest taxes, the highest gas prices, the highest cost of living, the most regulations, the most expensive public services, the most homelessness, the greatest number of crimes, the greatest decay and the greatest number of illegal aliens,” he said.
“Other than that, I think you’re doing pretty well, actually,” he teased.
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While acknowledging that the economy in California and across the country is excellent, Trump highlighted illegal immigration as an important issue for voters, saying the United States is considered a “land of possessions.”
“But now we are known throughout the world as an occupied country,” he said. “We have people taking over parts of Colorado. Our people conquered other states, many states.”
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Trump promised to “free our country from criminals” and “save California.”
“To everyone here in California and across our country, I make this promise to you. November 5, 2024 will be Emancipation Day in America,” he said.
“We will rid our country of criminals. I will rescue California from every city in America that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these cruel, bloodthirsty criminals in prison or drive out their country,” he said.
Former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, California, on Saturday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump nominated Eduardo Sarabia, an illegal immigrant who was recently arrested in Los Angeles after violently raping two women in his windowless Ford Transit van.
“He was accused of brutally raping two women in the back of a windowless van that police said was a hideously decorated rape dungeon on wheels,” Trump said. “Detectives believe this monster had many more victims.”
Former Republican presidential candidate Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, California, on Saturday. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Trump also suggested that Victor Hernández, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador who fled his home country after committing a heinous crime, is accused of murdering Maryland mother Rachel Morin.
“Our country had the strongest border in history. We now have the worst border in the history of the world,” he said.
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“My message to the American people is very simple,” Trump said. “The type of violence and terror that our attackers unleashed on our country must never again be allowed to be president of the United States.”
Trump promised to end Harris' “reign of terror” on his first day in office.
“Anyone who invades America cannot lead America,” he said. “Kamala Harris, your reign of terror will end the day I take office.”
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A highly valuable asset for presidential campaigns in the final stretch of the confrontation at the White House, in a dispute over the margin of error over time. HarrisMany wonder why Trump is stopping in blue states.
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A Coachella stop could benefit Trump with Latino voters – who have leaned toward the Republican Party in recent years – not only in southeastern California, but more importantly in neighboring Arizona and Nevada, two of the seven key states that will likely determine whether it will happen. The former president or Harris wins the 2024 elections.
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Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
