Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez said that Donald Trump does not “align with the values” of his city ahead of the former president’s rally planned near the Southern California locale later this week.
Trump’s campaign announced Monday that the Republican presidential nominee will address supporters at an event at Calhoun Ranch at 5 p.m. PST Saturday, his first public event in the Coachella Valley since his 2020 reelection bid.
It’s an unusual stop for a GOP candidate so close to Election Day. Coachella’s congressional district is represented by Democratic Congressman Raul Ruiz, and the city’s surrounding county, Riverside, has voted for a Democratic candidate in the last four presidential elections.
Some experts have suggested that Trump may be going to speak to Latino voters, hoping that his presence in a Democratic stronghold could rally the key voting bloc in swing states come November. But Hernandez, a Democrat serving his fifth term in office, rebuked Trump’s visit in a statement Monday, …