WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump held a rally in New Mexico on Monday night, with an eye to turning the southwest state red in the 2020 election.

Speaking to supporters in suburban Albuquerque, Trump claimed that he can win New Mexico, a Democratic-leaning state that he lost to Hillary Clinton by more than eight percentage points.

The Republican went on touting the nation's economy under his administration and repeating rhetoric on border security and immigration while attacking Democrats, their proposals, and liberal media.

New Mexico has not voted for a Republican in the presidential election since 2004.

Trump's reelection campaign said in a statement earlier in the day that the president and Republicans "up and down the ballot work together to turn New Mexico red in 2020."

The rally was the first stop of a three-day trip that will also take Trump to California for fundraisers.