In a bold play for attention in deep-blue California, Donald Trump took the stage in Coachella to bash Vice President Kamala Harris and accuse her of ‘stealing’ the presidential nomination from President Joe Biden. Trump claimed Biden, who he said lost their first debate, was ousted in a ‘coup’ orchestrated by the Democrats, leaving him supposedly bitter and even friendlier toward Trump than Harris.
“There was a coup; they threw [Biden] out of office,” Trump told the crowd, adding, “I’m convinced he likes me more than he likes her.” Trump criticized Harris’s work as California’s former attorney general, taking aim at her record on crime and immigration while blaming her and Biden for what he called a border “disaster” and “the worst crisis in American history.”
Trump’s California rally is part of a larger strategy to hold events in traditionally Democratic states, demonstrating what his team says is “broad national support.” His Coachella stop followed an appearance at a Latino roundtable in Las Vegas and a rally in Arizona, with plans for New York’s Madison Square Garden later this month. A Trump adviser argued that these stops are designed for maximum media impact, showing that Trump’s support cuts across the country.
Amid this rhetoric, some political insiders speculated that Biden may indeed harbor lingering resentment, with a GOP strategist claiming Biden feels slighted by Harris’s supposed rise over him. Despite the controversy, Trump’s rallies keep drawing headlines as he amps up his attacks and doubles down on his America First message heading into 2024.
