Donald Trump has been hosting his signature rallies in key swing states for weeks, aiming to sway the undecided voters who will decide the election. But on Saturday, the former president is bypassing those battlegrounds to hold a rally in a deep blue state, where his chances of winning range from slim to nonexistent.
On Monday, Trump announced he would head to Coachella, a city in Riverside County best known for the eponymous music festival that takes place every April in nearby Indio. At a rally to take place on the polo grounds at Calhoun Ranch, Trump is expected to focus on rising costs in Vice President Kamala Harris’s home state.
“President Trump’s visit to Coachella will highlight Harris’ poor record and show that he has the right solutions for every state and every American,” Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, told Newsweek.
Coachella lies in a Southern California congressional district represented by a Democrat and in a region easily carried by President Biden and Hillary Clinton in the last two presidential elections.
For Trump to spend a chunk of one the few remaining weekends of the race there suggests not that he’s making a dubious play to flip California blue — but something that’s part of a more disciplined strategy of courting Latino voters nationwide, according to Mike Madrid, a political consultant and expert on Latino voting trends.
In a post on X, Madrid, a longtime Republican and author of The Latino Century, said that Trump’s decision to stage a rally in the inland desert of California can be traced to the region’s notable rightward shift among Latino voters.
Madrid emphasized that a large turnout at the event could resonate with Latino voters in swing states across the country.
The strategy is not new. Trump turned heads last month when he held a rally in Nassau County, a part of Long Island, New York that leans conservative. In May, he rallied voters in the South Bronx, one of the most reliably deep-blue parts of New York City.
Although his chances of flipping New York are slim, both those events generated something that, for Trump, is valuable on its own: sustained media coverage. After the rally in Long Island, footage circulated for days on cable news, Instagram and TikTok, with Trump proudly highlighting his “strong support in a blue state.”
According to Madrid, Trump hopes to replicate those successes in states where Latino voters play a key role.
A Shifting Latino Electorate
Throughout the campaign, Trump has focused heavily on appealing to young male voters, with Latinos being their own sub-demographic. He has recently appeared with the Puerto Rican reggaeton stars Anuel AA and Nicky Jam—the later whom he mistakenly misidentified by gender during his introduction—as part of a strategy to attract young Latino men.
Young Latinos are seen as an increasingly influential voting bloc. In 2024, an estimated 17.5 million Latinos are expected to vote, with 1 in 5 casting their ballot in a presidential election for the first time. UnidosUS reports that 38 percent of the Latino electorate will be new since the 2016 Trump-Clinton matchup.
Eduardo Gamarra, a political science professor at Florida International University, told Newsweek that the strategy of reaching Latinos has changed, as these voters are no longer reliably Democratic.
Research from his university suggests that second- and third-generation Hispanic and Latino men are increasingly trending conservative, mirroring a broader shift among young men, according to a global survey by Glocalities.
“Hispanics are increasingly behaving like the general electorate,” Gamarra said. “The economy is the main issue, followed by concerns unrelated to immigration. Second- and third-generation Hispanics are also behaving more like their American counterparts, sharing similar cultural preferences.”
This shift is also reflected in a changing media landscape. Instead of tuning into traditional Spanish-language networks like Telemundo or Univision like their parents, many younger Latinos are consuming content on platforms like TikTok, YouTube and podcasts, where influencers like Logan Paul and figures like Elon Musk are popular among younger conservatives, regardless of race or ethnicity.
With 27 days until the election, neither Trump nor Vice President Harris has participated in a Spanish-only media event. Harris is set to appear on Univision later this week, and Trump is expected to follow next week (his original appearance was pushed due to weather).
But even those appearances speak to an outdated outreach strategy, said Elizabeth Vaquera, associate professor of sociology and director of the Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute at George Washington University.
“Culturally significant references can be effective, but they need to be updated for young Latinos,” said Vaquera.
“Spanish-only media may not resonate as strongly with a population that has grown up in the U.S,” she said. “Targeting their bilingualism or Spanglish could be more impactful.”
“Many young Hispanics today identify primarily as American, even if their parents are from countries like Cuba or Colombia,” Gamarra added. “This contrasts with previous generations, who often felt a stronger connection to their countries of origin.”
Historically, Latinos have leaned Democratic, but shifting voting patterns have raised concerns for the party. A UnidosUS poll revealed that while Kamala Harris still leads Trump among Latino voters, her 59 percent support is slightly below the 61 percent Joe Biden secured in 2020.
In California, which has the largest Latino population in the country, a strategically timed and produced Trump rally could further eat into those margins.
As Madrid, the political analyst, said about Saturday’s event in Coachella: “Sure it’s in California but dismiss the message it sends it at your own peril.”
