Bay Area Trump Supporters Rally Ahead of His Arrival in the Democratic Stronghold

Local supporters of former President Donald Trump gathered Friday to celebrate his arrival for a big-ticket fundraiser in the Bay Area, where he can expect little backing from voters but is targeting a pool of wealthy Republican donors.

About 100 people lined the edge of El Camino Park in Palo Alto, waving dozens of Trump flags and bumping patriotic music from speakers. As cars passed by, some let out long honks in support of the rally about 15 minutes from where Trump will attend a private afternoon reception in Woodside.

One driver sped by, flipping off the Trump supporters and yelling expletives at the group, and across the street, about a dozen supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris held signs for their candidate.

Opposition is no surprise to Trump supporters in the heavily Democratic region. In 2020, President Joe Biden received 72.6% of the vote in Santa Clara County and 77.9% in San Mateo County. However, while some rally attendees declined to give their names or be recorded for interviews for fear of being chastised or assaulted for showing support for Trump, Robert Scher of Los Altos said he’s very confident in showing his feelings.

“I wear my Trump hat, and what I found out [is] people come up to me and give me fist bumps, and they go, ‘Right on!’” he told KQED.

People who don’t share his political beliefs ask him why he supports Trump and often spark up a conversation, he said.

Andrea Hyde of Menlo Park said she’s proud to be a Trump supporter but doesn’t think all of his potential voters are announcing it publicly.

“The quiet Americans that aren’t going to say, ‘Yes, I am voting for Trump,’ in the polls [they] are going to vote for Trump,” she said. She echoed Trump’s rhetoric of a supposed wave of “fascist communism,” which he has used to try to cast Harris and the Democratic Party as far-left radicals.

On the opposite side of the road, David Page of Palo Alto stood with a small group of Harris supporters. He said that while he’s happy to see people rallying to express their opinions, he’s concerned about Trump being the Republican candidate.

“I don’t understand why they would still be supporting Trump after watching him in the debate. It’s like, come on, folks, there’s something wrong with that guy,” Page said.

Among the pro-Harris supporters was one holding a sign that read “Trump Ate My Cat,” referencing a false claim repeated by the former president during Tuesday night’s debate that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are “eating the pets of the people that live there.”

Trump’s debate performance was widely criticized, and even his supporters seemed to express misgivings. Scher said he didn’t think talking about “cat eaters” was important to the American people.

“He should have talked more about what was important to the American people — the economy, inflation, immigration, crime — and I was disappointed he got sidetracked onto that topic,” Scher said.

After the rally, some supporters said they were headed to try to get a look at Trump’s motorcade, expected to arrive in the Bay Area about midday after a morning press conference at his golf course south of Los Angeles.

Hundreds, along with some opponents of the former president, lined a small, hillside intersection in Woodside for much of the afternoon. He seemed to take a different route to the fundraiser and never passed the intersection.

According to an invitation obtained by KQED, tickets for the afternoon fundraiser in Woodside ranged from $3,300 to a pair for half a million dollars. Billionaire technology entrepreneur Tom Siebel and his wife, Stacey, will host the reception. Siebel is the second cousin once removed of Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wife.

In a post on the social media website X, the San Mateo County Republican Party told supporters to “join the Trump Train to Woodside” and “find your spot to Welcome Trump’s Motorcade.” Supporters also planned to meet at the Pioneer Saloon in Woodside for music and speakers, according to the post.