Trump Visits Newport Beach For Private Fundraiser As Part Of Campaign Swing
NEWPORT BEACH (CBSLA) — President Donald Trump made a rare visit to California Sunday, touching down in Orange County for an early afternoon private fundraiser at tech mogul Palmer Luckey's Newport Beach estate.
Trump began his day, however, in Nevada, making a rare visit to church before flying aboard Air Force One to John Wayne Airport. Once considered a battleground, Nevada hasn't swung for a Republican presidential contender since 2004.
While at church, Trump offered brief remarks, saying "I love going to churches" and that it was "a great honor" to attend the service. The president also said that "we have a group on the other side that doesn't agree with us," and he urged people to "get out there on Nov. 3 or sooner" to vote. He dropped a wad of $20 bills in the collection plate before leaving.
Despite the pandemic, there were no efforts to social distance or limit singing, which health officials classify as a high-risk activity. Few attendees wore masks inside the church.
By early afternoon, Trump had arrived to Orange County and greeted a crowd of enthusiastic supporters who cheered and chanted "four more years."
The president then left for the fundraiser via motorcade, passing a throng of supporters lining the streets on the way to Newport Beach, where more supporters gathered, along with a sizable group of Armenian-American protesters hoping to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. A small group of Black Lives Matter demonstrators faced off with some of the Trump supporters.
No violence was reported at either demonstration, according to City News Service.
Trump was scheduled to speak at a rally in Carson City, Nevada later Sunday. The whirlwind visit will be part of a busy campaign weekend for the president.
Meanwhile, Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden was in Delaware over the weekend, and held no public campaign events Saturday. On Sunday, Biden, a practicing Catholic, attended mass in Delaware before campaigning in North Carolina, where a Democrat hasn't won in the White House race since Barack Obama in 2008.
Biden and President Trump are scheduled to meet in Nashville Thursday for their final debate.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)