As Election Day approaches, former President Trump made a surprise detour to ultra-blue California to spotlight the state’s skyrocketing inflation, crime and illegal immigration.

Trump landed in the Coachella Valley on Saturday evening to face Vice President Kamala Harris on her home court.

Voters in the decidedly blue state came out in droves, with Trump remarking on the sheer size of the crowd as he took the stage at 5:30 PM PST.

“We had a great welcome here. Look at this crowd,” Trump said, marveling at the crowd. “This looks like record material as far as the eye can see.”

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Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, arrives Saturday to speak at a campaign rally at the Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, California. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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Trump highlighted California’s failed policies and said that “we have to make it better.”

“I stand before you today in the heart of the majestic Coachella Valley to declare that the Republican Party will always put America first and lead us to victories like you have never seen before,” he said. “Because we have become the party of common sense.”

The former president vowed to fight for “hardworking citizens of every race, religion, color and creed.”

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During the Trump campaign’s announcement that the former president would make a rare visit to California, spokesman Steven Cheung said it was to “highlight Harris’ poor record and demonstrate that he has the right solutions for any state and every American.”

Trump highlighted the record of both Harris and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in the state, promising to “save” it.

The radical left Democrats have destroyed this state, but we are going to save it…

– Republican presidential candidate, former President Trump

“The radical left Democrats destroyed this state, but we are going to save it,” he said. “And we’re going to make it better than ever before.”

“I didn’t just come here today to talk about California, where you have one of the worst governors in the country, Gavin Newsom, but you certainly had someone here who was terrible: Kamala,” he said. ‘And now she wants to destroy our country.

“She wants to destroy our country just like she did in San Francisco,” he said.

Attendees cheer as Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, arrives Saturday to speak at a campaign rally at the Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, California. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump compared California to a “paradise lost” and turned his story into a promise of a secure southern border.

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California is truly a paradise lost…

– Former President Trump

“California is truly a paradise lost, but we are going to bring it back,” he said. ‘Don’t worry about it. We’ll bring it back. It will happen soon.

“We will prevent the killers from entering. The drug dealers, anyone coming into California,” he said.

Republican presidential candidate, former President Trump, speaks at a campaign rally at the Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, California, on Saturday. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

Trump reminisced about what California used to be, saying it was a “beacon of what our country wanted to become.”

“It had the weather, it had the water,” he said. “The state had the best schools, the safest communities and a thriving middle class, but all that was eradicated by decades of the policies Kamala Harris now wants to impose on America.”

The Republican candidate for president pointed to California’s skyrocketing cost of living, its ongoing crime crisis and its ongoing illegal immigration crisis.

“Today, California has the highest inflation, the highest taxes, the highest gas prices, the highest cost of living, the most regulations, the most expensive utilities, the most homelessness, the most crime, the most decay and the most illegal aliens. ” he said.

“Otherwise, I think you’re doing pretty well,” he joked.

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While acknowledging that the economy comes first in California and across the country, Trump highlighted illegal immigration as a top issue for voters, saying the U.S. is considered an “occupied country.”

“But we are now known all over the world as an occupied country,” he said. “We have people taking over parts of Colorado. We have people taking over other states, a lot of states.”

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Trump promised to “rid our country of criminals” and “save California.”

“To everyone here in California and across the country, I make this promise to you. November 5, 2024 will be the day of liberation in America,” he said.

“We are going to rid our country of criminals. “I will save California in every city across America that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these cruel and bloodthirsty criminals in jail or kick them out of the country,” he said. said.

Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, arrives Saturday to speak at a campaign rally at the Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, California. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump pointed to Eduardo Sarabia, an illegal immigrant, who was recently arrested in Los Angeles after allegedly brutally raping two women in his windowless Ford Transit van.

“He was accused of sadistically raping two women in the back of a windowless van that police said was disgustingly equipped like a rape dungeon on wheels,” Trump said. “Detective believes this monster has claimed many more victims.”

Republican presidential candidate, former President Trump, speaks at a campaign rally at the Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, California, on Saturday. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

Trump also pointed to Victor Hernandez, an illegal migrant from El Salvador who fled his home country after committing a heinous crime and allegedly killing Maryland mother Rachel Morin.

“We had the strongest border in the history of our country. Now we have the worst border in the history of the world,” he said.

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“My message to the American people is very simple,” Trump said. “No one who inflicted the violence and terror that our intimidation has unleashed on our country should ever again become President of the United States.”

Trump promised that Harris’ “reign of terror” would end on the first day he took office.

“Anyone who orchestrates an invasion of America cannot lead America,” he said. “Kamala Harris, her reign of terror ends the day I take office.”

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Over time, an extremely precious commodity for presidential campaigns in the final stretch of a White House showdown in a race to narrow the margin of error with Harrismany wonder why Trump stops in blue states.

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The stop at Coachella could benefit Trump because Latino voters — who have been trending toward the Republican Party in recent years — not only in southeastern California, but more importantly in neighboring Arizona and Nevada, two of the seven crucial battleground states that will likely determine whether the former president or Harris wins the 2024 election.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on our Fox News Digital election hub.

Paul Steinhauser of Fox News contributed to this report.