Trump takes a detour to blue-state territory for a Coachella-themed campaign rally
From the Coachella Valley in California on Saturday to Madison Square Garden in New York later this month, the ex-president is moving away from the lengthy journey through swing states that both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris's campaigns believe will decide the election.
Republicans understand that winning deep-blue states like those Trump is visiting is an impossible task – despite Trump's ongoing refusal to acknowledge his loss in 2020 and his claims this week that he has more support in California than Harris, a state he lost by a massive 29 percentage points four years ago.
"If they had a fair election in California, I think I'd win it by a landslide. I really do," the former president expressed during an interview on a Southern California talk radio show, where he also expressed frustration with the state's mail-in voting procedures.
Trump's supporters argue that his visits to blue states are more than just gratuitous sideshows intended to satisfy the Republican nominee's whims.
Despite Democrats dominating California and New York, the size of these states means they boast a large number of Republican voters and donors. This presents numerous opportunities for fundraising and aiding down-ballot candidates, particularly in competitive House races.
"We have a lot of support in California, and I felt I owed it to them," Trump told the host, adding that the rally venue in the Coachella Valley is "a great piece of land."
The events in these states also give Trump the chance to pin the problems facing the states he's visiting on Democratic leadership.
As was evident in Thursday's Detroit event, where Trump accused Harris of ruining the nation if she were to win, he can make these comments without facing electoral backlash – especially in California, where Harris served as attorney general and a US senator.
"President Trump's visit to Coachella will expose Harris's failing record and show that he has the right solutions to save every state and every American," Trump's communications director Steven Cheung stated.
Trump's campaign also anticipates attracting huge, energetic crowds and securing significant media attention – advantages that will extend across the political spectrum.
"The location of his rallies matters less in this nationalized media environment. His messaging reaches all the major media markets, regardless of what he does. And the bigger the rally, the more attention it will receive, right? With Madison Square Garden? You have to cover it," a senior Trump adviser told CNN.
According to Trump advisors, the voters his campaign is targeting in the race's closing weeks are those who traditionally do not engage in politics – so trips like the one he made to Aurora, Colorado, on Friday, to attack Harris on immigration, have significantly more reach online than a typical swing-state campaign rally.
These are the reasons behind Trump's campaign having him speak with popular YouTube streamers and podcasters. Harris' campaign has implemented a similar approach in recent weeks, targeting specific voter groups with her podcast appearances and other interviews.
"There's a reason we're doing podcasts. There's a reason why we're doing Adin Ross and MMA. There's a reason why we're doing those things," one senior Trump adviser stated.
Coachella Rally
Trump's rally in the Coachella Valley on Saturday drew criticism from several local officials.
"Trump's rhetoric against immigrants, women, the LGBTQ community, and the most vulnerable among us contradicts the values of our community," Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez said in a statement posted on social media before Trump's visit.
"He has consistently expressed disdain for the diversity that defines Coachella. We're unsure why Trump is visiting near Coachella, but it's clear he wasn't invited by the community that lives here. He's not one of us," Hernandez added.
However, the former president views large-scale rallies in blue states, such as the one he will hold on Saturday, as signs of the vast support he enjoys across the nation.
These rallies also serve as a foundation for Trump to challenge the election results should Harris emerge victorious. One of his favorite arguments is that winning in such a landslide makes the results too large to be manipulated – a.k.a., "too big to rig."
"He believes that the crowds demonstrate, and will demonstrate, that it's impossible for her to win," a source close to Trump said.
In many ways, Trump views these large-scale rallies as a reflection of his performance – in his mind, the larger the crowd, the better he expects to perform in November.
Chicago and New York Plans
On Tuesday, Trump will visit another blue state in Illinois, attending an event co-hosted by Bloomberg News and the Economic Club of Chicago.
Trump is also planning a return to New York – where he has organized rallies in the Bronx and Long Island in recent weeks, as part of his strategy to win over non-white men who have historically voted for Democrats.
The September rally in Long Island was initially set for the same day as Trump's trial in New York's Manhattan. However, the judge in charge of the case delayed it until after the election.
Madison Square Garden on October 27 will provide Trump with a legendary venue in his hometown, just over a week before Election Day.
Trump has long hinted at organizing a Madison Square Garden rally. Yet, sources near the former president were hesitant to confirm the event, even after it had been finalized, owing to the external pressure that could be applied to the venue – particularly from powerful New York figures – to remove their support for the event.
While Trump lost New York by more than 20 percentage points in both 2016 and 2020, he maintains that he has a chance of winning the state in November.
"Trump is becoming fixated on the notion that his supporters in states considered non-critical for the 2024 election should have the chance to meet him and attend a rally, as per a source close to him. Said events can attract even more attention since they might be the only opportunity for many people to attend a rally.
Carrying himself with confidence in his performance in the Democratic-leaning states he's visiting, Trump asserted on Friday in Aurora that he is 'very close' in the reliably blue state, although there's no supporting evidence for this claim.
The primary objective of these visits is mainly to attack Democrats on issues that Trump's campaign views as its strongest, including crime and border security.
Touting unfounded and exaggerated accusations about Venezuelan gangs encroaching on Colorado, Trump criticized the state's Democratic governor, Jared Polis, on Friday.
'This guy doesn't perceive what you perceive. He doesn't see people storming buildings with AK-47s, weapons resembling military grade, sometimes even superior to our own military,' he stated.
Should he win in November, Trump declared he would institute a federal program to expedite the deportation of undocumented gang members and advocated for the death penalty for 'any migrant who murders an American citizen or a law enforcement officer.'
Colorado Senator Michael Bennet, a Democrat, refuted Trump's allegations regarding migrant crime in Colorado to CNN's Jake Tapper but maintained that from a political perspective, he was 'somewhat content' to witness the former president in the state.
'There's zero chance he'll win Colorado as a state,' Bennet admitted. 'And from a political standpoint, I think this was a total waste of his time,' he concluded."
Despite Republicans acknowledging that winning deep-blue states like California is an impossible task for Trump, his supporters argue that his visits to these states are not just gratuitous sideshows. Instead, they provide numerous opportunities for fundraising and aiding down-ballot candidates, particularly in competitive House races. (contains: politics, California, Trump)
Trump's visits to blue states also give him the chance to pin the problems facing these states on Democratic leadership, allowing him to make criticisms without facing electoral backlash. (contains: politics, Trump, blue states)
