Standing on his golf course less than a mile from the Rancho Palos Verdes landslide zone where hundreds of homes are without gas and electricity, former President Trump on Friday called his property “very solid” and called on the government to help the troubled city.
“It’s a very wealthy area, but you also have people living here that are elderly and have fixed incomes and have houses that are gonna be, ya know, shoved into the Pacific Ocean if something’s not done,” the former president said.
Trump spoke to reporters at a campaign-related news conference at his seaside Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles, which he bought from bankrupted developers in 2002 after the 18th hole slid into the ocean.
The landslide-prone city is under a state of emergency issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom this month because of extreme land movement triggered by back-to-back rainy winters. Neighborhoods near the golf course are under a city-issued evacuation warning, with the land moving about nine to 12 inches a week.
Before he began his lengthy remarks at an outdoor lectern — the Pacific Ocean behind him with Catalina Island visible after the morning fog cleared — Trump invited Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor John Cruikshank to speak.
“Obviously, I’m a tiny bit nervous. This is a very big deal,” Cruikshank said as he held a red “Make America Great Again” hat in his hands.
Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor John Cruikshank holds a “Make America Great Again” hat while listening to former President Trump speak at a news conference at Trump National Golf Course on Friday.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
Cruikshank told the Times on Thursday that he had, for several days, been trying to get on the Republican presidential nominee’s schedule. He had hoped to talk to Trump about the landslide before the news conference and had not expected to speak.
At the lectern, Cruikshank pleaded for help for the city of 40,000 people.
“We believe we can solve the problem, but we really need the assistance of the state of California and the federal government,” he said. “We have solutions out there for that, but the problem is bigger than the city of Rancho Palos Verdes.”
Trump, who is actively pursuing long-held plans to build up to 23 homes on the property, has struggled over the years to get city approvals for development, in large part because of the area’s instability.
The original owners of the property, then called the Ocean Trails Golf Club, went bankrupt after the 18th hole fell into the Pacific during a 1999 landslide while the course was still under construction. Trump bought the property in 2002 for $27 million.
He brought up the club Friday while attacking the leaders of San Francisco, who he said have allowed the city to decline. Trump compared costs at his club with an infamous $1.7-million public toilet that opened this year in San Francisco.
“They built a toilet for $1.7 million, and it’s not even nice. I saw pictures of it. I built this whole thing for less than that,” he said, sweeping his hand in reference to his property.
As for landslides, Trump said they “are something that can be taken care of.”
“This area’s very solid,” he said of his property. “But if you go down, a couple miles down, you’ll see something that’s pretty amazing. The mountain is moving, and it can be stopped, but they need some help from the government. So, I hope they get the help.”
Trump did not indicate if he was referring to the state government or federal government.
City officials say the golf club is about a half-mile from the active slide area.
Trump repeatedly trashed the Golden State but praised his club, saying he never has to advertise because “it’s always loaded up with golfers” and is “one of the best courses in the world.”
He added: “I have the ocean. Pebble Beach has the bay. The ocean’s better than the bay.”