Donald Trump, in rear, is whisked from Lake Tahoe Airport on Aug. 26 to Stateline. Photo Copyright 2016 Carolyn E. Wright

By Kathryn Reed

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump spent the better part of Friday in Nevada, with Tahoe being part of his itinerary.

He landed at Lake Tahoe Airport at 6:50pm after being in Las Vegas. This was nearly an hour after a private fundraiser started in his honor at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe. His trek from the airport to the casino was the extent of his time in California.

Pat Engels of South Lake Tahoe holds a Trump-Pence sign. Photo Copyright 2016 Carolyn E. Wright

The media was not allowed in the fundraiser that cost $200 per person, with priority tables going for $2,500 and VIP tables costing $5,000. All of the proceeds go to the Nevada Republican Party, and not into his campaign coffers.

More people were outside of Harrah’s on Aug. 26 with signs protesting Trump than were at the airport welcoming his arrival.

Donald Trump lands Aug. 26 in South Lake Tahoe on a plane owned by friend and financial backer Phil Ruffin. Photo Copyright 2016 Carolyn E. Wright

Signs read “Anyone but Trump”, “Trump: Divider in chief,” and “This town couldn’t function without immigrant labor.”

But it is Trump’s immigration policies that brought Bob and Pat Engels of South Lake Tahoe to the airport to see their candidate.

“We are so excited to be able to vote for Trump,” Pat Engels told Lake Tahoe News. The couple is eager to vote for him in November because they believe he’ll stop illegal immigration, make America great and uphold the First, Second and Fourth amendments.

Outside of Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, where Donald Trump was to attend a fund-raising event Aug. 26, protesters made their opinions known. Photo Copyright 2016 Carolyn E. Wright

A couple tables down a woman brought her two young daughters to the deck at the airport restaurant.

“He’s going to build a wall,” the Caucasian woman, who didn’t want to identify herself, said. That is why she likes Trump.

Trump flew in on Phil Ruffin’s private plane, a Bombardier 420. Eight years ago Trump was the best man for the Las Vegas businessman. The two are also business partners. And Ruffin spoke at the Republican National Convention this summer.

While Trump deplaned far from the main airport building because Secret Service and local law enforcement were worried about safety, his entourage swung by the terminal so he could wave to the dozen plus people on the balcony.

This is not Trump’s first visit to Tahoe. He has played in the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament. The first year was 2004 when he placed 56. He also played the following two years.