‘Paradise Lost’: Trump rallies devotees to Make America Great Again in the heart of liberal California

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COACHELLA, California - When Donald Trump took the stage at a rally in the desert city of Coachella on Oct 12 to stirring patriotic music, the crowd leapt to its feet.

Many were screaming “U-S-A, U-S-A” and “fight, fight, fight”, which they continued to do throughout Trump’s rambling hour-long speech, the latter refrain having become the Republican presidential nominee’s de facto battle cry after his ear was grazed by a bullet at a rally in Pennsylvania in July.

Thousands had gathered for this Trump rally in the unlikeliest of locations – Democrat-leaning California, a state he has little chance of winning – just 3-1/2 weeks before the presidential elections.

But as though challenging the stereotype of Trump’s base being white, non-college educated and male, they were a diverse lot: professionals, business owners, families with young children, along with blacks, Asians and Latinos.

“They think we’re a bunch of racists or white supremacists, but look around – you see all sorts of people here,” said Mr John Backen, the 54-year-old owner of a construction business.

The key issues for Trump’s supporters this election are increases in the cost of living, illegal immigration and crime, followed by concerns about censorship and some of the “woke” social policies promoted by Democrats.

Polls are showing a tight race between Trump and the Democratic candidate, Vice-President Kamala Harris, in battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan and Georgia.

That Trump would devote time to a rally in a state he lost by almost 30 percentage points in 2020 suggests he was seeking to tie what he perceives to be the failings of his opponent to her home state. Ms Harris was California’s attorney-general and a junior senator.

‘Paradise Lost’ In his time as president, Trump had often said California represents all that is wrong with America, reserving particular scorn for the affordability and homelessness crisis in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

“We’re not going to let Kamala Harris do to America what she did to California,” Trump said on Oct 12, even depicting the state – whose economy accounts for more than 10 per cent of the US economy – as “Paradise Lost”.

Some rally attendees echoed similar sentiments.

Mr Phu Nguyen, a 47-year-old who owns a nail salon franchise and arrived with a group of 13 other Vietnamese Americans, said there is strong support for Trump in the community.

A dozen women from a group called Vietnamese Americans for America First even appeared on the rally stage clad in chilli-red ao dai, the traditional Vietnamese tunic, offering their support for his border policies.

“He is a tough guy and we like that,” Mr Nguyen said.

“And the Democrats are soft on crime and homelessness. That’s why hundreds of thousands of people have left California for (Republican) states like Texas and Florida in the last few years,” he added.

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