The Trump tour: From Stormy Daniels to Mike Pence, NJ plays host to Trump world

Charles Stile | NorthJersey

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Be warned: The Donald J. Trump Cavalcade of Characters is descending on New Jersey this week.

Vice President Mike Pence on Friday plans to headline a private, $1,000-a-person fundraiser-luncheon at the exclusive and gated Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield for Jay Webber, the Republican candidate for the 11th Congressional District.

Donors seeking one of those grip-and-grin photos for the den wall or corner office will be expected to shell out $10,000 to $25,000.

Meanwhile, Stephanie Clifford, aka "Stormy Daniels," America's most prominent porn star and prominent thorn in Trump's side, will entertain behind closed doors Thursday night at an "exclusive gentleman's club" in Wayne to make money — for herself.

And then there is the president himself, who has already been here for 10 days ensconced in his private golf club in Bedminster for what was described as an extended and unsupervised respite, apparently driving his aides bonkers by impulsively endorsing a right-wing Republican candidate for governor in Kansas.

One might get the impression with all this Trump-world talent traversing the state that New Jersey is a hotbed of pro-Trump sentiment. But it is quite the opposite. New Jersey overall is hostile, anti-Trump territory.

Democrat Hillary Clinton clobbered Trump by 14 points in New Jersey in the 2016 presidential race, and since then, voters have taken a dim view of his presidency. A Monmouth University Poll in April said that just 34 percent approve of the job he is doing and 61 percent disapprove.

If anything, Trump has carried out a vendetta against the Garden State for the past 18 months. His tax overhaul stung thousands of middle-class-to-affluent homeowners by limiting state and local tax deductions to just $10,000.

Trump has taken an antagonistic attitude toward building the desperately needed train tunnels under the Hudson River and replacing the creaky Portal train bridge over the Hackensack River, a vital cog in the transportation network of the Northeast. And he wants to open the Atlantic seaboard to oil drilling.

Yet, despite the mutual hostility, the relationship yields mutual benefits for Trump's Republican allies and the network of grass-roots groups resisting his audacious presidency.

New Jersey may not be a beloved Republican bastion, but it's still a place with enough wealthy Republican donors who can write checks. And the Garden State visits by Trump, Pence and Daniels also yield a publicity benefit to the local resistance groups. It spurs them into action.

New Jersey is, and will remain, one of the nation's top donor states. Mitt Romney mingled with the wealthy in Far Hills and Short Hills on a one-day swing in 2012. And this time, the checks will bring some badly needed cash to Webber, the Morris County state legislator who so far trails far behind the Democratic nominee, Mikie Sherrill of Montclair. As of June 30, Webber had $172,000 cash on hand compared with Sherrill's $2.9 million. Both are vying to succeed moderate Republican Rodney Frelinghuysen, who is stepping down next year.

But the conservative Pence's visit could further galvanize the anti-Trump resistance, particularly in congressional districts held by Republicans.

"I feel that a statement needs to be made. Pence represents an anti-women, anti-science, anti-LGBT agenda. This is not the makeup of this area,'' said Karen Kargoll, a member of an anti-Trump group from South Orange and Maplewood, who is organizing a protest in a park near the golf course.

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Kargoll is organizing a mock procession modeled after "The Handmaid's Tale,'' the dystopian novel and television series about a totalitarian society where fertile women are forced into child-bearing servitude.

And some activists say Pence's trip will help them make the case that Webber will be indebted to the Trump administration if he wins.

But Webber's campaign disputed that perception. Webber "has said before that he will support the Trump administration when he agrees with him and when it's good for the district and he'll stand up to him when it's bad for the district,'' said Harrison Neely, a Webber spokesman.

Trump's repeated trips to his golf course sanctuary in Bedminster have already become a favorite focal point of protest. Anti-Trump groups stage weekly motorcade protests in Bedminister and hope to float the "Baby Trump" blimp somewhere over central Jersey in the coming weeks.

The arrival of Daniels, on the other hand, elicits more complicated views. Feminist activists, for example, are split over whether Daniels is a tawdry opportunist, who perpetuates demeaning stereotypes of women, while others admire her self-reliance as an unapologetic entrepreneur.

And most applaud her combative legal fight with Trump. Shortly before the 2016 election, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen arranged to pay Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about an affair she had with Trump in 2006 and 2007.

Daniels is suing to strike down a non-disclosure "hush agreement" over the money, arguing that it's invalid because Trump never signed it. The dispute has also reportedly drawn the interest special counsel Robert Mueller III, who is investigating possible Russian ties to the Trump campaign.

To some activists, Daniels' legal fight keeps the heat on Trump and helps deepen doubts among people who had been less alarmed by Trump's conduct and veracity.

"Anybody who gets an inch is going to get a cheer. People want to see something,'' said Saily M. Avelenda, executive director of NJ 11th For Change, a liberal activist group. "It’s been almost two years of waiting for what is going to crack this administration, in some shape or form."

But like Trump — who began building his now-defunct casino empire in New Jersey 40 years ago — Daniels is coming to New Jersey to make money. Her trip to Lace Gentlemen's Club and Restaurant is expected to sell out. The club management is hiring four extra bouncers and will be adding extra bartenders and "shot girls."

"It's exciting for us," said co-manager Daryl Robinson, "because it's going to be a very busy night."

Trump generates controversy and an opportunity to raise cash — even in New Jersey, where he's not welcome.