Donald Trump's bizarre California GOP convention entrance was like 'crossing the border'

BURLINGAME >> After making a bizarre entrance to the Califoia Republican convention, Republican presidential front-ruer Donald Trump hit some familiar notes in a speech to delegates, touting himself as the only candidate who could beat Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee, in November.

Hundreds of protesters blocked Trump’s path when his motorcade arrived at the Hyatt Regency near San Francisco Inteational Airport, forcing the real estate mogul to enter the hotel through a back entrance. In a scene broadcast live on TV, Trump and his entourage walked along a service road and along a concrete barrier, over a grassy median and into the hotel.

“That was not the easiest entrance I’ve ever made,” Trump joked upon taking the stage about an hour late. “We were walking over and under fences. I felt like I was crossing the border.”

The quip touched on Trump’s famous pledge to build a towering, roughly 1,000-mile wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and make America’s southe neighbor pay for it. He boasted Friday that the wall would be frightening in height.

“If anybody gets up there,” he said, “they’re going to say, ‘Man, how do we get down?’ “

Trump bashed his rivals -- Sen. Ted Cruz, of Texas, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich -- for their deal to block Trump’s path in Indiana, Oregon and Washington, calling the nomination system “rigged.”

“It’s a horrible, horrible, disgusting system,” said Trump, adding that Cruz has “no path to victory” aside from wrestling away delegates at the Republican National Convention.

“The only way he can possibly win is if things go terribly wrong and he goes through the back door and he bought all of these delegates,” said Trump.

• PHOTOS: Protesters mass at Califoia GOP convention where Donald Trump is set to speak

• PHOTOS: Chaos outside Donald Trump rally in Orange County

• RELATED: Protesters clash as Donald Trump brings message to Orange County

• RELATED: Costa Mesa police cruiser smashed in post-Trump rally protest

• RELATED: Tensions mount at Trump rally as police in riot gear separate protesters, supporters

As for Kasich, Trump compared the goveor to a “spoiled child” for refusing to leave the race and once again ripped his eating habits. Trump said his son, Baron, saw Kasich eating at a campaign event and declared, “Daddy, that’s disgusting!”

The real estate mogul and reality TV star said the Republican Party needs to unify behind him, though he claimed he could win in November without the party’s full support. He said he’s the only candidate who could beat Clinton, who leads Sen. Beie Sanders in the race for the Democratic nomination, in states like New York, Pesylvania and Florida.

Advertisement

“I’m telling you, you are going to have an unbelievably good result in November,” he said. “I’m different, because I’m going to win states nobody else can.”

Trump was greeted with applause when he took the stage after protesters forced him to make a detour on his way into the building.

Waving Mexican flags and “Dump Trump” placards, protesters grew boisterous when they leaed Trump’s security persoel had out-foxed the demonstration, as hundreds of protesters pushed toward the hotel.

The protesters carried signs supporting every idea on the progressive political spectrum, from “Stop Hate” to “Free the Nipple.”

Dozens of protesters surrounded Trump supporter Christopher Conway, 51, as he walked toward the hotel wearing a blue suit and a red Trump hat. Conway later said he began shouting “Trump!” as the protesters kicked, hit and spat on him. The assault was captured on video.

Waiting for a cab after Trump’s speech, the Burlingame mortgage broker said he wasn’t surprised by the crowd’s reaction.

“I’m a mature man and I can take it. I’m glad it was me and not somebody else who couldn’t defend themselves,” said Conway, who predicted the violence surrounding Trump events is “going to get worse before it gets better.”

“I think it’s going to get worse before it gets better. I’m very, very nervous about Califoia.”

Jack Beebee, a microbiology student at San Jose State, said she wasn’t there to protest Trump -- not so much because of his policies but because of his brand of populism. “I’m here to redress grievances now preemptively,” she said.

All three remaining Republican presidential candidates are speaking this weekend as the convention continues with a dier banquet Friday evening featuring Ohio Gov. John Kasich and a lunch banquet on Saturday with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, recently aounced as Cruz’s ruing mate, will host a dier banquet on Saturday night.

Trump started his Califoia visit Thursday night with a rally in Costa Mesa in Orange County. Protestors clashed with police outside and scuffled with Trump supporters leaving the event. One news photographer captured a man wearing a Trump T-shirt whose face had been bloodied. About 20 people were arrested.

Polls show Trump has a commanding lead in Califoia. Trump got the support of 49 percent of likely Republican primary voters, followed by Cruz with 22 percent and Kasich with 20 percent, according to a Fox News poll released April 22.

After sweeping five states on the East Coast in convincing fashion Tuesday, the businessman is well on his way toward clinching the Republican nomination. But a strong performance in Califoia would help him reach the magic number of 1,237 delegates and avoid a showdown with anti-Trump forces in July at the Republican National Convention.

“If his goal is to get the nomination on the first ballot, he has to take a large portion of the vote in Califoia,” said Bill Whalen, a research fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution. “For Cruz and Kasich, this is the last line of defense in preventing Trump from getting to 1,237.”

The candidates are competing for 172 delegates in Califoia, 159 of which will be awarded by congressional district. Wiing one of the state’s 53 congressional districts nets a candidate three delegates. Whoever wins the popular vote June 7 will secure the remaining 13 delegates.

Staff writer Karen de Sá contributed to this report.