The Secret Service led Trump in through a rear entrance to the hotel.
Advertisement
“I was crossing the border, but I got here”, said Trump, who has made his controversial remarks about building a wall along the Mexican border one of the planks of his campaign platform.
The billionaire businessman was forced to halt his motorcade and go through a back entrance to a hotel to give a speech to the California Republican convention and avoid several hundred loud protesters gathered outside.
Trump, known for his hard-line policies on immigration – including the infamous promise to build a wall on the US-Mexico border and make Mexico pay for it and for characterizing Mexicans as “rapists” – had come to the traditional Republican stronghold in California, looking to shore up support before the state’s June 7 primary.
Burlingame Police Lt. Jay Kiely said on Friday that five people were arrested. “I love Trump”, retired carpenter Brent Fisher said.
Hours later, Kasich framed the chaos as a warning sign to his party. Protesters hung a banner that read “Dump Trump” from an overhead walkway near the entrance.
While authorities demanded that protesters fall back, some demonstrators cursed at officers.
Earlier this week, a Trump rally in nearby Anaheim turned contentious when his supporters and protesters clashed, and several people were hit by pepper spray.
There have been protesters at Trump events since the early days of his candidacy.
Some protesters lobbed eggs at officers, and news footage showed a few protesters being dragged away by police after Trump’s speech ended.
“I think it’s going to get worse if he gets the nomination and is the front-runner”.
Police in riot gear and on horseback pushed the crowd back and away from the Pacific Amphitheatre, while there were no major injuries and police did not use force to disperse the crowd.
“While some have speculated that Trump might be toning down his campaign rhetoric, Thursday night’s speech was a return to numerous points he’s made for months on the trail”.
Trump was traveling from the rally site to the state’s Republican convention in Burlington in the San Francisco Bay area. Republicans consider it a victory just to win one-third of state legislative races so it can have a say in state budgeting.
Trump’s main rival, Senator Ted Cruz, on Friday picked up the backing of Governor Mike Pence of IN in a rearguard battle to damage Trump’s chances. Weeks of wrangling among Republican insiders have set the stage for a state convention fight that Cruz supporters hope helps keep their candidate in the mix if Trump doesn’t collect the 1,237 delegates across the nation he needs to win outright. The demonstrations showed how polarizing Trump can be, especially in a state where Republicans have become marginalized because they failed to attract growing immigrant populations.
Advertisement
One man wearing a green bandanna over his face was seen punching the glass windows of the hotel, and others yelled at him to stop saying “we’re not about that”.
