A planned speech by Republican presidential front-runner
Donald Trump in Costa Mesa, California, is drawing the ire of local
Democrats, including the Democratic Party of Orange County and the
Orange County Young Democrats. Both groups are coordinating a protest
against the speech set for Thursday evening, months before voters cast
their ballots in California's June 7 primary, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“We do not believe that there is any room for racism,
sexism, religious bigotry, disregard for international law, violence or
any other such phenomena in our political discourse,” the newspaper
quoted the Orange County Young Democrats as saying in a statement. “As
such, we expressly condemn Donald Trump, declare that his values are not
Orange County’s values, and we urge all other citizens of Orange County
to do the same.”
Trump’s rally is set for 7 p.m. PDT. It can be viewed in the live stream below.
Trump is leading the Republican presidential race in recent California polls. A CBS News/YouGov poll found
that about 49 percent of Republican voters said they backed Trump and
31 percent said they supported U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. Republicans
outnumber Democrats in Orange County, which is south of Los Angeles
County.
The Thursday evening speech comes several days after supporters and opponents of the candidate clashed outside Anaheim City Hall as
the City Council voted on a resolution to condemn the candidate. The
resolution failed, but it further underscored a divide over the
real-estate mogul’s candidacy, which has built a strong support base.
Although many first thought Trump’s presidential run was a
long shot, he now seems the inevitable nominee for the Republican Party.
Trump has collected 992 delegates in the race so far, while his closest
contender, Cruz, trails with 562 delegates, according to an Associated Press count.
Both Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has 153 delegates, are trying
to block Trump from reaching the 1,237 delegates needed to assure his
nomination.
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