The trip to California is a rare one for the president, who last hit the state in April for fundraisers in the Los Angeles area and to view border wall renovations. | AP Photo/ Evan Vucci Trump to visit favorite liberal target California in September

SAN FRANCISCO — President Donald Trump will hit one of his favorite political targets — California — with a mid-September fundraising visit to the liberal bastion of the San Francisco Bay Area, in addition to Beverly Hills and San Diego.

A “save the date” invite shows that the president will visit the Bay Area region on Sept. 17 for an event at an undisclosed location hosted by RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, co-chair Tommy Hicks Jr., RNC Finance Chairman Todd Ricketts and Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale.


Trump will also head to Southern California in his fourth trip as president to the Golden State, according to Harmeet Dhillon, a Bay Area-based member of the Republican National Committee and one of the event hosts.

Though polls show that Trump is unpopular in solidly blue California, where Republicans account for less than a quarter of the state's registered voters, Dhillon predicts that Trump’s events will sell out quickly.

“Every presidential candidate who has the potential to raise money comes to the Bay Area, and I expect he’s going to have a series of very successful fundraisers here,” Dhillon told POLITICO, “because there are millions of Californians who support him.’’

She said event tickets start at the $1,000 level, suggesting that “ordinary supporters” have a chance to see Trump in person.

The trip to California is a rare one for the president, who last hit the state in April for fundraisers in the Los Angeles area and to view border wall renovations. It was only his third visit to the West Coast since taking office — a stark contrast from predecessor Barack Obama, who had hit the region nearly two dozen times by the same point in his presidency.

In March 2018, the president starred at a Beverly Hills Republican National Committee fundraiser.

Last November, he joined then-Gov. Jerry Brown and incoming Gov. Gavin Newsom in touring damage from the Camp Fire in Paradise and the Woolsey Fire in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. It was during that visit that Trump famously said Finland didn't have as many problems with forest fires because "they spent a lot of time on raking and cleaning."

Some Democrats say Trump's visit to the Bay Area may be intentional as he heads toward the 2020 election, allowing him to underscore his differences with the most liberal part of California in an appeal to his base. Since taking office, Trump has jabbed repeatedly at Newsom, who has likewise dished it back on social media and in interviews. The two have sparred most recently over tailpipe emissions standards, with the president lashing out at automakers for striking a side deal with California and Newsom celebrating the state's effort to outflank the Trump administration.

The state has sued the Trump administration nearly five dozen times over issues that include family separation policies at the border, immigration and environmental issues.