President Donald Trump’s supporters lined Via Lido Street in Newport Beach Oct. 18 to celebrate the president’s arrival to a private fundraiser. Cars, bikes and supporters clothed in campaign merchandise paraded through the streets throughout the day. Photos by KATIE REUL, News Editor

When Dahlia Leung, a junior in high school, drove up the California coast with her mother for a work trip, a pit stop at a mass rally for President Donald Trump was not on their itinerary.

The two drove through Newport Beach Oct. 18 to see streets cluttered with bodies boasting red hats, blue shirts and “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) apparel, as thousands of President Donald Trump supporters gathered in celebration of the president’s arrival for a private  fundraiser in the area. Tickets to the event hosted by Palmer Luckey ranged from $2,800 per individual to $150,000 per couple to attend and take a photo with the president.

As the afternoon wore on and crowds trickled into restaurants along Via Lido for a late lunch, Leung paced up and down the sidewalk, holding a piece of printer paper with a hastily scribbled Black Lives Matter message above her head. 

Rally-goers and those selling MAGA merchandise on the opposite side of the street, however, paid her little attention; she was seemingly the only person in the area offering any sort of resistance, and additionally, in the minority of those wearing a mask and following COVID-19 guidelines.

“I expected there to be at least some people protesting against Trump; I’m kind of disappointed there weren’t,” Leung said. “I do feel that there should be a universal mask mandate (as well) … it’s kind of disappointing.”

Earlier in the day, Trump’s motorcade passed over a bridge on its way to the fundraiser. As reported by the OC Register, when the president poked his head out from a limo window and waved, supporters on one side of the bridge cheered, while a smaller crowd of protestors on the opposite side chanted “two more weeks.” 

However, after rally attendees and protestors had dispersed, remaining tensions reached a lull. Some Republican voters remained congregated in the area even after the president’s arrival in Newport. One man working at a merchandise booth, who declined to identify himself, told The Panther he thinks “Trump’s got (this election) locked up” and that “California might be turning red.”

California has long been populated by Democratic voters, but Orange County has historically voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1940. However, the county flipped in 2016 when a majority voted for then-Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

As of 2019, Orange County now has more registered Democrats than Republicans.  Despite this,  California’s independent voters appear to be leaning Republican, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. 

Chris Nguyen, who arrived at the rally late but struck up a conversation with the operators of a Trump merchandise booth, told The Panther he was a registered Democrat until 1992. Over the years, he lost faith in the party as a whole.

“They’re not the same Democrats as they used to be,” Nguyen said. “They cause violence. Antifa is real; they’re not an idea. What (Democratic president candidate Joe Biden) said, that antifa’s an idea – no it’s not.”

Nguyen, gesturing out at a relatively peaceful scene across Via Lido Street, asserted the civility of Trump supporters in the area and added that Biden supporters, particularly associated with the Black Lives Matter movement and antifa, create more violence. 

However, as reported by the Los Angeles Times, earlier that very same day a crowd of Trump supporters along the Pacific Coast Highway and Newport Boulevard taunted a reporter and jeered, grabbed and shoved another man wearing Biden apparel. 

While the clear majority of rally-goers and Trump supporters in the area were white, there was still a fair amount of diversity amongst those sporting MAGA gear. 

“They say Trump’s racist, but if you look at this rally, there’s diversity of nationalities (among Trump supporters),” Nguyen said. “I'm a second-generation Vietnamese American. There’s a whole bunch of Armenian Americans. I see a bunch of Latino Americans, so it’s diverse.”

Nevertheless, polls still give Biden the clear edge in the state of California. Undecided and independent voters have 14 more days until the Nov. 3 general election to select their candidate of choice.

Katie Reul contributed to this report.