This year’s Coachella Festival promises to be one for the books. The scheduled headliner is up-and-coming musical sensation DJT. And the excitement is already building.
But contrary to rumors, Trump’s opening act will not be DA Jazzy Jeff Sessions. Sorry, folks.
This weekend former President Donald Trump will host a rally in the Coachella Valley at Calhoun Ranch in the Sleepy little town of Coachella.
Too bad Joe Biden had to drop out. ‘Sleepy little town’ and Joe Biden go together like a horse and carriage, which is probably how Joe Biden traveled on his first trip to California.
Given the fact that California is not regarded as a swing state by virtually any standard – the city of Coachella is roughly 98 percent Latino and has hosted large presidential rallies for Socialist Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in the past – it’s easy to start scratching your head and wondering why, at this late stage in the race for president, Donald Trump would be spending any time in the Golden State at all.
That’s certainly what the Democratic Mayor of Coachella, Steven Hernandez, was wondering when he issued the following statement critical of the campaign stop:
“The City of Coachella was proud to welcome Senator Bernie Sanders during the 2020 primary election, but news of former President Trump’s upcoming visit has been met very differently. Trump’s attacks on immigrants, women, the LQBTQ community, and the most vulnerable among us don’t align with the values of our community. He has consistently expressed disdain for the type of diversity that helps define Coachella. We don’t know why Trump is visiting near Coachella, but we know he wasn’t invited by the people who live here. He ain’t like us.”
Democrat Raul Ruiz, who represents Coachella in Congress, described Trump’s decision to appear in Coachella as appalling, clueless, and ignorant. Add disgusting and obscene and now you’re talking about the other Coachella Festival, dude!
But here’s the thing…the “Democrats” are supposed to be about unity and joy this cycle!
Shouldn’t we celebrate that a candidate is engaging in dialogue with people who don’t necessarily think like him?
For whatever reason, in American politics, we have developed the habit of speaking only to people who think exactly like us.
Compare Trump’s venture into the lion’s den to Kamala Harris, whose last three appearances were on The View, The Howard Stern Show, and the Call Her Daddy podcast.
Gosh, how brave of her! What, Andy Cohen was booked this week? Too bad Merv Griffin is dead, huh Kamala?
But that wasn’t always the case.
In the 1960 presidential election, then Vice President Richard Nixon pledged to visit all 50 states, and he eventually did.
Nixon, of course, lost the 1960 presidential election in a squeaker to then Senator John F. Kennedy. But his strategy did end up paying dividends later on, as Nixon was successful eight years later, defeating Democratic Senator Hubert Humphrey and American Independent Governor George Wallace for the presidency in 1968.
Then, in 1972, Nixon won in a landslide, only losing the state of Massachusetts.
In 2008, then Senator Barack Obama employed a similar strategy. Noting his successes in deeply red states in the Democratic presidential primaries, Obama pledged to expand the map for his campaign, which he did to all states except for Alaska and North Dakota.
The blueprint worked out for him too, as President Obama was sent to the White House by voters for two consecutive terms.
Look, former President Trump’s loss of California on Election Day this November will be the biggest landslide in California since…since the last landslide in California.
That being said, he’s certainly not hurting his chances by campaigning here.
Even if you’re not going to get it, people like being asked for their vote.
In his autobiography, Man of the House: The Life and Political Memoirs of Speaker Tip O’Neill, the former Speaker told a story about the one election in his life that he lost – for Cambridge City Council.
The morning after the election, he ran into his next door neighbor and former babysitter, and told her, “Well at least I got your vote.”
“How do you know I voted for you?” she asked.
“We’ve known each other for many years. I just assumed you would vote for me,” Tip responded.
She put her hand on his arm and replied, “But you didn’t come to me and ask for my vote.”
The moral of the story: nobody likes being taken for granted, or worse – ignored.
This weekend former President Trump is showing up to a Democratic city in a Democratic state, and will be making a pitch for his campaign, asking people for their vote.
Doing this isn’t a waste of time, it’s a show of respect.
John Phillips can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on “The John Phillips Show” on KABC/AM 790.
