Where there’s a Donald Trump rally, violence and chaos are sure to follow. The divisive Republican poked the proverbial beehive by gifting this presidential primary season with plenty of racist and misogynistic soundbites including but not limited to refusing to denounce the KKK, commenting on his 1-year-old daughter’s breasts and proposing to build a giant wall along the border of Mexico.
So it comes as no surprise that protestors donning bandanas over their faces and wielding Mexican flags came out in full force at the California Republican Convention, where he was scheduled to speak. As CNNreports, a number of them blocked the road to get to the Hyatt Regency, where the event was scheduled, forcing his motorcade to pull around to the back entrance. Things would only escalate from there as a few dozen tried to rush the entrance, which was blocked off by police, all while chanting “Get him out.” Officers handcuffed the door handles to keep the angry group out, while others wound up in physical altercations with civilians.
Protesters blocking off road in front of California GOP convention before Trump speech https://t.co/l78YlfHm2k
Meanwhile, the people inside were generally unaffected by the erratic events happening just a few feet away. Richard Marshall, the GOP chairman for Siskiyou County, remained calm while chatting with friends. "It's part of the business, isn't it?" he told reporters. "I mean, I think it's unfortunate they don't want to have freedom of speech for everybody and want to have it all for themselves." Spoken like a true Trump supporter.
When the man of the hour finally took the stage to speak, he ironically called for unity within the Republican Party before admitting that he doesn’t really care whether or not they stand united. "Again, ideally, we're going to be together," Trump said. "I think I will win even if we're not together. I mean there are some people, I honestly don't want their endorsement. I just don't want it. It's not going to have any impact on whether or not we beat Hillary Clinton. It's not going to have any impact. But most of the party has to come together."
