Definitely Not Trump Country: Protestors Gather in California for POTUS Visit

By Chris RiottaMar 13th, 2018, 6:04 pm
 

Police forces equipped with riot gear lined the streets of California on Tuesday in preparation for President Donald Trump’s raucous welcoming party, thrown by protestors and immigration activists across the state.

Anti-Trump groups and progressive organizations hosted demonstrations in Los Angeles and San Diego as Trump embarked on his first trip to California since assuming the White House last year. Protests also erupted on the other side of the border, with demonstrators marching throughout Mexico’s Tijuana and nearby border towns.

The show of force reflected local disdain over the administration’s hardliner stance on illegal immigration. Residents of the state — which yields the largest immigrant population in the country — carried signs reading “No Ban. No Wall. No Raids.”

The president didn’t acknowledge the protests as he visited a site near the U.S.-Mexico border on Tuesday, where he inspected prototypes for his long-promised wall. In fact, Trump reignited his demands for larger-than-life border security while describing potential undocumented immigrants as “professional mountain climbers.”

“The larger it is, the better it is because it’s very hard to get over the top,” Trump said Tuesday, speaking with reporters in San Diego. “It’s really deterrent from getting over the top. Who would think, who would think. But getting over the top is easy. These are like professional mountain climbers.”

The president was expected to stay overnight in Los Angeles on Tuesday, where one of the largest reported demonstrations was set to kickoff upon his late-afternoon arrival, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“The LAPD will be heavily deployed throughout the city to ensure the safe transport of the president and secure locations he will be visiting,” the city’s police department said in a statement sent to LA Times. “The department will also be available to accommodate any residents who may feel a desire to exercise their 1st Amendment rights.”

[image via screengrab]

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