'We're not going back': Valley Democrats denounce Donald Trump's upcoming rally (2025)

With former President Donald Trump set to hold a campaign rally on a ranch near Coachella on Saturday, a crowd of local Democrats gathered in Sun City Palm Desert on Wednesday night in opposition to the upcoming visit, chanting at one point, “We’re not going back.”

The crowd, many clad in political apparel supporting the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, heard from a trio of local elected officials: Long-time U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Indio, and Palm Springs councilmembers Christy Holstege and Lisa Middleton, who are respectively running for state Assembly and Senate seats in this year’s election.

“I’m as surprised as all of you,” Ruiz said of Trump’s rally announcement. “Honestly, I'm kind of glad, because he's in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong plan. You know, I think he'd be on some other swing state right now, where thank goodness Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are.”

The Trump campaign announced the rally at the Calhoun Ranch, located just outside the city limits of Coachella, earlier this week. The event will likely focus on the vice president’s ties to the state, as the Trump campaign said in its announcement that Californians are “suffocating under rising prices for everything from groceries to housing, thanks to Kamalanomics.”

More: Elated fans, long waits and a long speech: What to expect at Trump's Coachella rally

The upcoming visit has drawn strong criticism from local Democrats. Ruiz, who is seeking re-election in Congress this year, told the crowd of roughly 200 people that “no place in America would suffer more under a second Trump administration, and no place would benefit more from a Harris administration” than the Coachella Valley.

Ruiz pointed to Democrats' plans to protect Social Security and Medicare, as well as healthcare initiatives initiated through the Inflation Reduction Act, as examples. He also criticized Trump’s proposal for new tariffs on imports, saying it would harm local farmers, and recalled his experience in the U.S. Capitol during the violence of Jan. 6, 2021.

“This is a community that respects former presidents. Think Gerald Ford Drive and Eisenhower Health,” Ruiz said. “Probably no place in America has been home to more former presidents, Democrats and Republicans.”

“We love them and respect them even when we disagree with them, because they respected us,” he added. “They respected our democracy. They respected our Constitution. Now, Donald Trump is different. ... We don't want to divide our nation between loyalists to Donald Trump and non-loyalists.”

Local Democrats from across the valley attended the indoor rally, including several elected officials and candidates, such as Palm Desert Mayor Karina Quintanilla and Indio Councilmember Waymond Fermon. A surprise guest was also on hand: The mother of Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, Barbara, who has a home in the valley.

Many remained stunned that Trump is planning to visit the valley just a few weeks before Election Day on Nov. 5. Middleton told the crowd that she “thought it was a joke” when she learned the news from her campaign manager.

“If there's anyone who has absolutely no business in Coachella, it's Donald Trump,” Middleton said. “Donald Trump, (for) all of his adult life, has been bashing immigrant communities, and Coachella is made up of so many members of the immigrant community who are putting the food on the table that we eat each and every day.”

Palm Desert resident Don Zeigler, who came with his wife Vicki to the event, said he was similarly shocked to learn of Trump’s upcoming visit.

“I think he’s just here to provoke, which is all he does,” Zeigler said. “He’s just here to needle people.”

Ruiz told The Desert Sun after the event that he’s not aware of any private fundraisers planned as part of Trump’s visit, saying he remains “baffled” by the campaign rally.

Asked what he would say to those planning to attend Saturday’s rally, Ruiz said they should make sure to stay hydrated, avoid the sun when possible and seek indoor shelter if they get dizzy. (Temperatures are expected to reach above 100 degrees in the area Saturday.)

Ruiz also encouraged Saturday's rally attendees to shop and spend money in the area, before adding: “Our democracy is based on a peaceful transfer of power. Our democracy is based on a peaceful debate of ideas on how to move our country forward, and that’s what I love about our democracy.”

Tom Coulter covers the cities of Palm Desert, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage and Indian Wells. Reach him at thomas.coulter@desertsun.com.