Protesters and supporters marked President Trump’s visit to California on Tuesday.
Protesters gathered nearby while Trump was in San Diego to view prototypes for his border wall. As the president left in his motorcade for Los Angeles, at least one protester flashed an obscene hand gesture. A few hundred Trump supporters also held a pep rally at a nearby industrial park, the New York Times reported.
“I’m here to tell him he’s not welcome here,” another woman said. “He’s a traitor.”
Trump participated in a fundraiser in evening at Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Edward Glazer’s home, attracting an eclectic array of demonstrators, including gay and immigration rights groups, according to the Los Angeles Times. A group of approximately 100 protesters gathered a block away as Trump traveled from the event to his hotel, the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown, where he will stay overnight. Trump is expected to travel to St. Louis, Mo., on Wednesday.
The trip to California was Trump’s first as president and comes after the Trump administration intensified its feud with the state over immigration. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit last week in a Sacramento federal court that argues three California laws passed last year undermine federal immigration law.
California went heavily in Hillary Clinton’s favor — by more than 4 million votes — in the 2016 election.
