Several hundred supporters of former President Donald Trump lined the streets of Newport Beach Saturday, hoping to catch a glimpse of the White House contender as he came to town for a fundraiser.
Dressed in red, white and blue — some donning star-spangled top hats and large flags draped around their shoulders — ardent supporters congregated all along Jamboree Road and Bayside Drive and held up signs that read, “Welcome, President Trump” and “Trump 2024, Take America Back.”
It was a party-like atmosphere Saturday, with patriotic and classical music blaring and cheers ringing out for honking passing cars.
And those shouts only got louder as the former president’s motorcade rolled down Jamboree and Bayside around 12:40 p.m. Trump, from behind a closed window, waved at the crowds.
Trump is in town as part of a fundraising swing following his felony conviction last week. Tickets for the Newport Beach event, held at the sprawling Harbor Island home of John and Kimberly Word and jointly hosted by tech entrepreneur Palmer Luckey, range from $3,300 to attend the luncheon to $100,000.
For Michael Cooper, 55, of Newport Beach, actually catching a glimpse of Trump in the car was “super exciting.”
“He was waving,” Cooper said. “I loved coming out here and just showing support for the country and him, especially in light of all his legal woes. … It’s important to be here and cheer him on. We believe in him. He gives us so much hope for our future.”
Part of an “Asians for Trump” group, Clare Chu said she came out to support “justice and good.”
“This country is going in the wrong direction,” said Chu.
Bayside Drive, from Jamboree Road to Pacific Coast Highway, is closed to motorists until about 3 p.m., according to the city’s plans. Local residents can access the road, but only with proof of an address, like a photo ID or passport.
Trump supporters along Jamboree and PCH in Newport Beach in anticipation of the former president’s afternoon visit. @ocregister pic.twitter.com/ync7SrKOvf
— Hanna Kang (@byhannakang) June 8, 2024
Residents from Linda Isle, an exclusive community just feet from the bridge to Harbor Island, lined up outside their gates waiting for Trump’s arrival.
Among them was Casey Lloyd, who was excited to catch a glimpse of the motorcade.
“I’m here to support Trump,” he said, adding he thinks it’s important for everyone to vote for who they think is best. “I’m very excited to see so many people caring for America again. God bless us all.”
Nearby was Terry Shifflet, 53, of Eastvale.
“We’re Trump supporters, die-hard Republicans. Things are going the wrong way for our country,” said Shifflet, who wore a Make America Great Again hat. He said the recent felony conviction only made him want to show more support for Trump.
And with a son at the Air Force Academy, Shifflet said he was unhappy about President Joe Biden’s withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, adding, “We shouldn’t be in some of these wars now.”
Shortly after the president’s motorcade rolled through, much of the large crowds dissipated. But others stayed behind to purchase Trump-themed merchandise at a stand set up on the corner of Jamboree and Pacific Coast Highway.
Phyllis Friedman, 83, of Mission Viejo, made it a priority to get to Bayside Drive early.
“I’m here for the 80-year-olds,” said Friedman, who arrived at 8:30 a.m. in order to get a good glimpse of the motorcade. “I’m a Trump supporter. I like everything about him.”
And 24-year-old Danny Hannah said he has many like-minded friends in his age group who “were never interested in politics that are now getting into it to support Trump.”
“I want my future children to grow up in a country that’s theirs and has a future,” said Hannah, also a Mission Viejo resident.
But others came from all around Southern California, like Blake Marnell of San Diego and Dana Nordbeck of Riverside.
Dressed in what he called his “border suit” — it looked like brown and white bricks — Marnell, 59, journeyed to Newport Beach after attending a Trump event in Phoenix earlier in the week. He’s headed to Las Vegas on Sunday for another one.
“I like being around people who support President Trump,” he said. “Not everyone has an opportunity to talk politics where they work or with family. Here we can.”
Related links
Former President Trump’s Newport Beach visit means road closures, traffic impacts
Donald Trump arrives in Beverly Hills to rake in campaign cash
As Trump heads to Southern California, vulnerable House Republicans navigate his guilty verdict
Reactions to Trump’s guilty verdict underscore how politically purple Orange County has become
Fickinger said Democrats might be caught off guard in the deep-blue state.
While Orange County has turned from a longtime Republican stronghold to a true purple region — voter registration favors Democrats over Republicans 37.4% to 33.6% and no Republican presidential candidate has won in Orange County since then-former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in 2012 — coastal Orange County remains an area in deep-blue California where GOP candidates could still find big success in collecting cash and support.
“West LA and coastal Orange County are top areas in the country for Trump fundraising, but they’ve been so for Republicans before Trump and will be after he’s left the scene,” said Matt Jarvis, an associate professor of political science at Cal State Fullerton.
Newport Beach, in particular, is top-friendly territory for Republicans.
Where Republicans outnumber Democrats by nearly double, 47.7% to 25.7%, it has consistently ranked in the top few dozen cities that give generously to Trump. In 2020, the 92660 ZIP code in Newport Beach, where he held a fundraising event that October at Luckey’s Lido Isle home, was among the top 45 ZIP codes in the country where he received the most money. This year, Trump has so far raked in close to $400,000 in that ZIP code.
The former president, who turns 78 next week, is in the midst of his third bid for the White House. He was in San Francisco on Thursday and Beverly Hills on Friday night to shore up his campaign coffers.
The Beverly Hills event took place at the private residence of Lee Samson on North Elm Drive. Samson is a board member of the Republican Jewish Coalition and owner of a chain of nursing homes. He previously hosted Trump for a fundraiser in 2019 that raised $5 million.
Beverly Hills resident Shiva Bagheri pointed to antisemitism on college campuses as a reason many local Jewish residents would be supporting Trump in November. Bagheri also pointed to inflation as a catalyst for Trump support.
“We are the highest taxed state in the country and what are we getting from it? High crime, bad infrastructure, indoctrination in schools and open borders,” she said.
Since Trump’s conviction in the hush money case last week, his campaign and the Republican National Committee have said they’ve seen an influx of donations.
Earlier this week, the campaign and RNC said they hauled in $141 million in May, attributing the support as a response to the verdict in Trump’s hush money trial. Other pro-Trump organizations brought in an additional $150 million in May, they said.
But he’s also come under fire for relying on donations to his campaign to pay for his expensive legal fees. According to some estimates, he has spent more than $100 million of donor dollars as of early 2024 to pay his lawyers.
It’s a unique situation, said Jarvis, the Cal State Fullerton professor, because the country hasn’t had a presidential candidate facing active indictments. Legality-wise, it’s a loophole, he said.
“I don’t think the law intended for this purpose for campaign spending, but the FEC hasn’t cracked down on it, and they probably can’t,” Jarvis said. “I’m positive that there’s no way the current Congress would update the law for this.”
Ethics-wise, Jarvis said he believes the fundamental question is what the purpose of campaign donations is.
“It is wrong to spend money you are given for one purpose for another, yes. But, Trump’s campaigns have always been about Trump,” he said.
Trump travels next to Nevada for another fundraiser tonight. Hosted by construction tycoon Don Ahern at the Ahern Luxury Boutique Hotel, the Sunday evening event features a price tag ranging from a modest $1,000 to an eye-popping $844,600.
Check back for updates to this story throughout the day.
