Trump immigration policy and controversial political stances have yielded unintended aggressive results from all ends of the political spectrum.
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Numerous protesters in San Diego, a heavily Latino city that sits just 20 miles from the Mexican border, took issue with Trump’s proposal to build a wall along the border and deport illegal immigrants.
Trump’s choice to hold a rally in San Diego – a city adjacent to the Mexico border whose population is roughly one-third Latino – was viewed by many as a potentially contentious decision.
Officers in riot gear pushed the crowd back after the two sides surrounded a patrol vehicle, screaming and hurling empty water bottles at each other.
Police outside the city’s convention centre ordered the crowd to disperse after the billionaire’s speech, but protesters from both sides refused to leave for hours.
San Diego police said three arrests had been made but the crowd, numbering about 1,000, was largely peaceful.
Demonstrators in the Orange County city of Costa Mesa last month damaged police cars and threw bottles, leading to 17 arrests.
The controversial Republican nominee has always been accused of thinly-veiled racism in his statements about American immigration policy and the countries trade relations with neighboring Mexico.
Delivering a speech later in San Diego, Trump lashed out at Democratic candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton and reiterated his pledge to erect what he called a “beautiful” wall along the Mexican border. “I’d love to debate Bernie”, he said, but added that he proposed giving the proceeds from the debate to charity and that the networks “wanna keep the money to themselves”. “I look forward to debating Donald Trump in California before the June 7 primary”.
Mr Trump is running unopposed in California after his Republican rivals pulled out and he reached the number of delegates needed to secure the nomination.
“I think it’s fair to say that they are surprised by the Republican nominee; they are not sure how seriously to take some of his pronouncements”, Obama said.
Clinton has shown no interest in debating Sanders before the California primary, which will be part of a final slate of nominating contests. It is possible she will clinch the nomination by winning New Jersey earlier that day, making the outcome in California superfluous.
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But he insisted he’d win it anyway: “If we have a trial we’ll go all the way, watch how we win it”.
