With only 23 days remaining until election day and voters already beginning to cast their ballots, former President Trump rallied his supporters in the California desert, taking aim at the state’s Democratic leadership, especially his presidential foe, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump condemned California for having “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.”
“Other than that, you’re doing quite well, actually,” Trump remarked. “We’re not going to allow Kamala Harris to do to the rest of America what she did to California.”
The former president took the stage shortly after 5 p.m. on a polo field at Calhoun Ranch, just outside Coachella, where supporters had lined up for hours under the sweltering desert sun to enter.
Trump stands before supporters at the rally at Calhoun Ranch.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
As temperatures soared to 100 degrees, supporters sought refuge in any available shade, making quick work of large ice tanks as attendees took handfuls of cubes for their hats or to fill water bottles. Several medical emergencies were reported during the event.
“Welcome to Trumpchella!” exclaimed state GOP Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson, one of the speakers who warmed up the crowd for Trump.
Trump’s visit to Harris’s home state provided him the opportunity to criticize the policies of the Bay Area native and California itself—a common refrain on the campaign trail. Before serving as U.S. Senator, Harris had been elected San Francisco’s district attorney and later as California’s attorney general.
The Coachella Valley, known for its vibrant agricultural industry and a significant population of Latino farmworkers, offers Trump a platform to emphasize the region’s water and agricultural challenges, as well as immigration issues. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, Latinos make up nearly 98% of Coachella’s population.
Labeling California a “sanctuary state” for immigrants in front of thousands, Trump stated, “The people of California won’t tolerate this any longer.”
He frequently linked immigrants—many of whom he claimed hailed from “dungeons of the Third World”—to crime, despite research indicating that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than those born in the U.S. He criticized Harris, who President Biden assigned the task of tackling the root causes of immigration from three Central American countries, as a failed “border czar.”
“Kamala Harris got you into this mess, and only Trump can get you out of it,” he declared.
Wearing his iconic red “Make America Great Again” hat to shield himself from the oppressive desert sun, Trump urged attendees to vote en masse, making the upcoming election “too big to rig.” He has persistently denied that he lost the 2020 election. “They excel in one thing. What is that one thing?” he questioned the audience. “Cheating!” the crowd responded enthusiastically.
Trump shifted his criticisms toward Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), a leading candidate in California’s U.S. Senate race who orchestrated Trump’s impeachment in the House, prior to his Senate acquittal. Trump branded Schiff “one of the least attractive humans” and made jabs about the size of Schiff’s neck and head.
Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Indio) remarked that the “Coachella Valley is recognized as a playground for presidents,” noting past campaign visits from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and golfing outings by former President Obama, as well as the retirements of Presidents Ford and Eisenhower in the area. Despite this, he described Trump’s choice to come to Coachella—located in one of the bluest states as “baffling.”
Trump addresses the crowd Saturday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
“We’ve grown accustomed to having presidents visit and leave their imprint here, and we honor and respect them. … But ex-President Trump is different,” Ruiz conveyed during a call from Coachella Valley, where he was interacting with reporters. “There seems to be a distinct lack of respect for the demographics residing here—not just through his harsh rhetoric but also in his policies.”
The rally’s location is just beyond the 41st Congressional District, where Democrat Will Rollins, a former federal prosecutor, is contesting against Republican Rep. Ken Calvert, who was anticipated to attend the rally. This race is pivotal in determining which party will control the House.
Calvert, who received Trump’s endorsement in the 2022 congressional election and again on Saturday for his current campaign, voted against certifying 2020 election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania while acknowledging that Democrat Joe Biden won the presidential election.
“Welcome Trump,” Calvert said at the rally. “Show him that some sense still prevails in California, particularly here in Riverside County.”
Other speakers included Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz from Florida, a staunch Trump supporter, and Dennis Quaid, the actor recently known for portraying President Reagan in a film about him.
Mary and Pete Venegas traveled over an hour from their home in Hemet to see Trump, for whom they plan to vote for the first time in November.
Mary Venegas, a former Democrat who bypassed the 2020 election due to a lack of enthusiasm for Biden, expressed that Trump deserves “a second chance.” Wearing a red Trump t-shirt, she mentioned she is now a registered Republican.
“He made me do it,” she laughed, nudging her husband, who operates a construction and landscaping business and supports Trump for his business skills.
This trip marks Trump’s second visit to California in a month, following a stop at his Rancho Palos Verdes golf course in September, which was sandwiched between two high-profile fundraisers in Beverly Hills and the Bay Area.
Trump has announced a rally at Madison Square Garden in New York on October 27, another massively Democratic state. California GOP strategists, speaking anonymously to elaborate on Trump’s motivations, mentioned his desire to improve his share of the popular vote, noting that despite California’s Democratic leanings, it has over 5 million registered Republicans.
At the rally on Saturday, mentions of Harris and Gov. Gavin Newsom from Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco elicited boos from the crowd.
“The decline of public safety in California began more than a decade ago with Gavin Newsom’s policies and ideas under the oversight of Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris,” Bianco stated, citing Proposition 47, a ballot initiative that downgrades certain thefts and crimes to misdemeanors.
While Proposition 47 was enacted during Harris’s tenure, she refrained from engaging in the political discourse as attorney general. California voters are set to determine whether to amend parts of the 2014 measure with Proposition 36 next month.
Trump held a rally in Aurora, Colo., on Friday—a state where he lost by over 13 points in 2002. He falsely claimed that Aurora had been overtaken by Venezuelan gang members. Additionally, he visited Nevada on the same night.
Trump acknowledges supporters’ cheers.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
During Saturday’s event, Trump unveiled a new immigration plan, called “Operation Aurora,” announced during his Friday visit, intended to expedite the deportation of immigrant gang members. He also advocated for the death penalty for any immigrant who kills an American citizen or law enforcement officer, a proposal that prompted the crowd to chant “USA!”
On Thursday, while addressing the Detroit Economic Club, he insulted the city, cautioning that Detroit’s situation could mirror what would happen to the country if Harris were elected president.
“Our entire nation will end up resembling Detroit if she takes office,” Trump stated. “We won’t allow her to do that to our country. It’s not going to happen.”
Democrats in Michigan—a key state likely to influence the presidential election—expressed outrage.
“Detroit embodies ‘grit,’ characterized by individuals willing to toil to rebuild their city and communities—something Donald Trump could never grasp,” remarked Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “So keep Detroit out of your discussions. And you can count on Detroiters to remember this in November.”
Michigan Republicans were equally taken aback by Trump’s comments.
“Michiganders haven’t been this proud of Detroit since Henry Ford gave the world mobility. The Lions and Tigers are on a high, the city has rejuvenated, and then comes Donald Trump to tarnish that progress,” an exasperated GOP strategist relayed to a Times reporter on condition of anonymity. “He shouldn’t be surprised when they respond to his comments by casting votes for Kamala Harris. Not solely from Detroit residents, but hundreds of thousands who are deeply proud of their city.”
Trump exits the stage after the rally.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Harris stated that Trump’s comments about Detroit reflect a pattern.
“My opponent, Donald Trump, has once again disparaged yet another wonderful American city during his time in Detroit, further illustrating why he is unfit to serve as president of the United States,” Harris informed reporters Thursday in Las Vegas.
Trump has similarly criticized Milwaukee during a gathering with House Republicans shortly before the Republican National Convention was held there earlier this year. He has also made disparaging remarks about Philadelphia and Atlanta, both pivotal cities in states that will likely decide the presidential election.
