This archive report was first published on 15 September 2019.
California has long been a thorn in the side of Donald Trump, and his recent visit to the state only served to highlight the deep-seated animosity towards him.
At the Republican Party's state convention near Palm Springs in April 2016, Trump's campaign manager, Brad Parscale, predicted that the Trumps would be a dynasty that would last for decades. However, the cloud of Trump's unpopularity in California hung over the convention, and a successful resolution pushed by Chad Mayes, a Republican lawmaker and critic of the president, that called on the party to condemn racism and xenophobia was seen as a rebuke of the president.
Trump's history with California is checkered, to say the least. As an entertainer, he never managed to win over the hearts of Hollywood, and his failed attempt to build the world's tallest building in Los Angeles in the 1990s only added to his reputation as a failed businessman.
During his presidential campaign, Trump's visits to California were often met with protests and demonstrations. In April 2016, protesters temporarily blocked him from entering the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Burlingame, where he was scheduled to speak at the state Republican convention. He was forced to exit his motorcade and make his way off Highway 101 by foot, a move that he later described as feeling like he was crossing the border.
However, when Trump visited Paradise, California, after the wildfires last year, he was welcomed by former Gov. Jerry Brown, Gov. Newsom, and local officials. The contrast between these two visits highlights the complex and often contentious relationship between Trump and California.
Manuel Pastor, a sociologist and professor at the University of Southern California, wrote a book about the conflict between Trump and California, called 'State of Resistance.' When asked how he would update his book now, he said, 'the conflict between the federal government, the Trump administration, has deepened. And California has gotten increasingly better at being able to defend itself and resist. And the Trump administration has gotten increasingly creative about ways that it could shortchange California.'
