PALO ALTO, Calif. – Former President Donald Trump, fresh off his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, is spending time in California on Friday, first in Los Angeles and then in the Bay Area.
Trump started off his day at the Trump National Golf Course in Rancho Palos Verdes for a 9 a.m. news conference.
After that, he headed to a Woodside fundraiser in San Mateo County, which the Los Angeles Times reported will be hosted by Tom and Stacey Siebel, distant family members of Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of Gov. Gavin Newsom – a vocal Trump critic.
In Woodside, at the intersection of Woodside Road and Whiskey Hill Road, supporters began gathering around 11am with hopes of seeing Trump’s motorcade. They were disappointed when it took a different route. Nevertheless, supporters wanted their voices heard.
“I love his beliefs, I love everything he stands for. I don’t want to have to sit every day at my table and figure out what I am going to do on a budget. I am a business owner and it has been really hard…I can’t even buy bread because it is nine dollars a loaf,” said Irma Polanco, a Trump supporter in Woodside.
Tom Siebel is a billionaire software developer who has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Trump’s 2024 campaign; the Times reported he is a second cousin once removed of Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
Tickets cost as much as $250,000 a person.
Though the Bay Area is a Democratic stronghold, there are Trump supporters here, too.
About 50 of them showed up at El Camino Park in Palo Alto to show their support for the Republican candidate.
“There’s a lot more Trump supporters than you would believe,” said Robert Scher of Los Altos.
He said when he wears his red Trump baseball cap, people give him a fist bump.
“A lot of people want to see him elected again,” he said.
Erin Friday of Redwood City said she used to be a registered Democrat. But she said she’s now voting for Trump .
“I want to give permission to other Democrats that it’s OK to vote morally and vote for Donald Trump,” she said.
Across the street from the park stood about a dozen Harris supporters.
David Page of Palo Alto said at the last minute, he wanted to gather Democrats to show up to counter the Trump supporters.
“It should be something that both sides get represented,” Page said.
Page said he was in the Army 50 years ago and believes that since the president is the commander-in-chief, “it doesn’t seem like we should have someone who is emotionally disturbed to be commander-in-chief.”
A small group of supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris also turned out at the Woodside rally for former President Trump.
“So I am from Woodside and I wanted to come out here and represent Kamala and just show that there is another side to people that live in the area. And I am so excited for Kamala to become president,” said Madeleine Gerhart, a Woodside resident and Harris supporter.
This is Trump’s second visit to the Bay Area this summer. In June, he attended a fundraiser at the San Francisco home of tech billionaire David Sacks.
After California, Trump heads to Las Vegas for a rally in the key swing state of Nevada.