“He Ain’t Like Us”: Coachella Mayor Criticizes Trump’s Upcoming Rally
© Mike Segar, Reuters
The mayor of Coachella, home to the iconic Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, has sharply criticized former President Donald Trump ahead of his planned campaign rally in the area this weekend. The rally, scheduled for Saturday at 5 p.m., has drawn local opposition, with Mayor Steve Hernandez noting that the MAGA leader “ain’t like us.”
The Trump campaign announced the event in a Monday news release, blaming Vice President Kamala Harris and her “dangerous” Democratic allies for what they describe as the decline of California. The campaign argued that the once-famous “California Dream” has become a “nightmare for everyday Americans” under the current administration.
They specifically criticized Harris for issues such as housing affordability, rising gas prices, and “crippling inflation.” The campaign’s statement declared, “If this is the California Dream, it’s every American’s worst nightmare.” The announcement of Trump’s visit was unexpected for local officials, especially as California is not considered a swing state in the upcoming 2024 election.
Mayor Hernandez expressed his concerns, referencing the city’s openness to other political figures in the past. “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,” he stated, according to California City News.
Hernandez further explained, “Trump’s attacks on immigrants, women, the LGBTQ 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 Coachella, but we know he wasn’t invited by the people who live here. He ain’t like us.”
Echoing these sentiments, Indio City Councilmember Waymond Fermon described Trump as “a threat to our needs and to democracy itself,” underscoring the opposition to Trump’s visit within local leadership. Political strategist Mike Madrid, co-founder of the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project and a former California Republican Party official, offered his perspective on Trump’s decision to rally in Coachella.
“He isn’t just rallying in Riverside County,” Madrid told California City News. “He’s using it as an ad for Fox News. Rallying in a deep blue state with a lot of Latinos is exactly the message he wants to convey.” The upcoming rally has ignited controversy, as local officials and residents question the motives behind Trump’s visit to a predominantly Latino and historically progressive area.
