Three presidential candidates spoke to Republicans in Orange County on Friday — but the day’s events felt more like a rally for former President Donald Trump.
MAGA hats were a common accessory, and lines to buy Trump-themed merchandise, like shirts that featured his mugshot with the words “Wanted for President,” snaked through the halls in between and during the candidates’ events. Women took photos kissing a cardboard cutout of the former president.
Dueling demonstrations clashed on the streets outside of the Anaheim hotel where the California GOP convention was held — with both sides focused on their support for or opposition to Trump.
Related: Republican presidential candidates speak to voters in Orange County at convention
And Trump drew the biggest crowd for his lunchtime event. About 1,500 people packed into a ballroom — where salads and chicken and little cakes were served — for what was the most expensive of the ticketed speeches.
In a speech full of conservative talking points but few specifics, Trump vowed to “solve the border problem in 24 hours” and bolster California’s water supply. He praised California Republicans — from former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon to Huntington Beach Mayor Tony Strickland — but castigated the state for its immigration policies, homelessness, “woke tech tyrants” and more.
“You are the last line of defense standing between this state and total anarchy,” Trump said to those gathered at the Anaheim Marriott to hear him speak on the opening day of the convention. “Help is on the way.”
“We will end the desecration of your once great state, California,” he said. “The world is being dumped into California, prisoners, terrorists, mental patients.”
While he skipped the debate earlier this week in Simi Valley and has largely appeared more focused on the general election rather than the primary, Trump drew laughter and cheers with attacks on Florida Gov. Ron…
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