A demonstrator climbs a traffic light outside Donald Trump's campaign rally in Costa Mesa, California. (Reuters Photo)
The head of California's Republican Party today downplayed chaotic demonstrations that broke out against a Donald Trump campaign rally there, saying protests were typical for the state's politics.
About 20 people were arrested on Thursday night near the county fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, California, where the Republican front-runner for the White House held his rally. Local media reported that protesters smashed the window of a police squad car and blocked traffic.
"If you're a Republican running for president in California and you don't get protested, you're doing something really, really wrong," Jim Brulte, chairman of the California Republican Party, said on CNN on Friday. "Every president I've campaigned with here in California has been protested."
Protests have become common outside of rallies for the outspoken New York billionaire in recent months. His campaign had to call off a rally in Chicago last month after clashes between his fans and protesters.
Demonstrators sit in front of a line of police in riot gear outside Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign rally in Costa Mesa. (Reuters Photo)
Trump visited California on Thursday ahead of its June 7 primary, and he will speak on Friday at the California Republican convention.
California boasts the most delegates to the Republican National Convention in June and is key to his hopes of getting the nomination for the November 8 election.
Republican National Committee spokesman Sean Spicer blamed Thursday night's unrest on people from the political left.
"They're always willing to call out everybody else but when it's their side that disrupts, that creates violence, that ruins public property, there's silence," he told CNN.
Trump has accused backers of Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders of fuelling tensions at his rallies in the past, a charge Sanders has dismissed.
Trump has won a broad following among Republicans in the United States, along with harsh critics, for his tough stand on illegal immigration. He has accused Mexico of sending drug dealers and rapists across the US border, and has promised to solve the problem by building a wall and forcing Mexico to pay for it.
The population of Costa Mesa, where he appeared on Thursday, is about a third Latino.
Trump appeared at the rally with families of several people who were allegedly killed by undocumented immigrants.
Local news afterward showed demonstrators surrounding vehicles, waving Mexican flags and holding signs. At least one demonstrator was shown jumping on top of a police car. A Los Angeles Times reporter posted a photo on Twitter of a man wearing a Trump T-shirt with a bloodied face.
Trump's main Republican rival, US Senator Ted Cruz, was likely to receive a boost on Friday with the expected endorsement of Indiana Governor Mike Pence days before next week's primary contest in the state, multiple media outlets reported.
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