With Election Day drawing to a close, former President Trump made a surprising trip to ultra-blue California to draw attention to the state's sky-high inflation, crime and illegal immigration.
Trump landed in the Coachella Valley on Saturday night to face Vice President Kamala Harris on its home turf.
Voters from the overwhelmingly blue state turned out in droves, and Trump mentioned the sheer size of the crowds as he took the stage at 5:30 p.m. PST.
“We had a great reception here. Look at this crowd,” Trump said, admiring the crowd. “It's kind of like recordings as far as the eye can see.”
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Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, arrives on Saturday to speak at a campaign rally at Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, California. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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Trump highlighted California's failed policies, saying that “we have to fix this.”
“I stand before you today in the heart 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 the party of common sense.”
The former president promised to fight for “hard-working citizens of every race, religion, color and creed.”
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During the Trump campaign's announcement that the former president would make a rare visit to California, spokesman Steven Cheung said it was intended to “highlight Harris' poor performance and show that he has the right solutions for every state and every American.”
Trump also highlighted Harris Democratic Gov. Gavin News' achievements in the state, promising to “save” them.
Radical Left Democrats destroyed this state, but we will save it…
“Radical left Democrats destroyed this state, but we will save it,” he said. “And we will make it better than ever before.”
“I came here today not only to talk about California, where you have one of the worst governors in the country, Gavin Newsom, but you certainly had someone here who was terrible – Kamala,” he said. “And now she wants to destroy our country.
“She wants to destroy our country like she did to San Francisco,” he said.
Attendees cheer as Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, arrives on Saturday to speak at a campaign rally at Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, California. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump compared California to a “paradise lost,” turning his spiel into a promise of a secure southern border.
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California is truly a lost paradise…
“California is truly a lost paradise, but we are going to bring it back,” he said. “Don't worry about it. We're bringing it back. It will happen quickly.
“We will stop the murderers from coming. Drug dealers, all coming to California,” he said.
Republican presidential candidate former President Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, California, on Saturday. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Trump recalled what California used to be, saying it was a “beacon of what our country aspires to.”
“There was weather, there was water,” he said. “The country had the best schools, the safest communities and a booming middle class, but all of that has been uprooted by decades of the same policies that Kamala Harris now wants to impose on America.”
The Republican presidential candidate highlighted California's sky-high cost of living, ongoing crime crisis and continuing 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 most homelessness, the most crime, the most decay and the most illegal aliens,” he said.
“Other than that, I think you're doing pretty well,” he joked.
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While Trump acknowledged that the economy is the most important thing in California and across the country, he highlighted illegal immigration as the top issue for voters, stating that the United States is considered an “occupied country.”
“But we are now known all over the world as an occupied country,” he said. “We have people taking over parts of Colorado. We have people taking over other states, multiple states.”
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Trump promised to “liberate our country from criminals” and “save California.”
“To everyone here in California and throughout our country, I make this pledge. November 5, 2024 will be American liberation day,” he said.
“We will liberate our country from criminals. “I will save California in every city across America that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these cruel and bloodthirsty criminals in jail or kick them out of the country,” he said. he said.
Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, arrives on Saturday to speak at a campaign rally at Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, California. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump singled out Eduardo Sarabia, an illegal immigrant who was recently arrested in Los Angeles after he allegedly brutally raped two women in his windowless Ford Transit van.
“He was charged with sadistically raping two women in the back of a windowless van that police said was disgustingly equipped like, quote, a rape dungeon on wheels,” Trump said. “The detective believes this monster had many more victims.”
Republican presidential candidate former President Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, California, on Saturday. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
Trump also brought this to the attention of Victor Hernandez, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador who fled his country of origin after committing a heinous crime and allegedly murdering Maryland mother Rachel Morin.
“We had the strongest border in the history of our country. Now we 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. “No person who has caused the violence and terror that our oppression has inflicted on our country may ever again be president of the United States.”
Trump promised that Harris' “reign of terror” would end on his first day in office.
“Anyone who organizes an invasion of America cannot lead America,” he said. “Kamala Harris, her reign of terror will end the day I take office.”
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Over time, an extremely valuable commodity for presidential campaigns in the final stages of the White House race for the margin of error with Harrismany wonder why Trump is staying in blue states.
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A stop at Coachella could benefit Trump with Latino voters — who have been leaning toward the GOP in recent years — not only in southeastern California but, more importantly, in neighboring Arizona and Nevada, two of seven key battleground states that will likely determine whether the former president or Harris wins the 2024 election.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on our Fox News Digital election hub.
Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
