GLENDALE, Ariz. – Thousands of people showed up for a rally for former President Donald Trump organized by Turning Point USA in Glendale, west of Phoenix, and many waited in line all night to get good seats.
Robert Kennedy Jr. joined Trump at Desert Diamond Arena on Friday to show his support, having suspended his presidential campaign in Arizona and nine other key battleground states just hours earlier. Kennedy had earlier told a news conference in downtown Phoenix that if he stayed in the race, it could allow Vice President Kamala Harris to win because it would take votes away from Trump.
Several candidates running for office in Arizona spoke before Trump, including congressional candidates and Kari Lake, who is running for U.S. Senate. Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk said Americans are tired of sending $200 billion to Ukraine when U.S. borders are not secure. He said U.S. citizens should be given priority over foreigners.
He echoed a theme that was common among other speakers, stating that Democrats were trying to prosecute and put Republicans in jail. When he mentioned that this might be the first time Kennedy had endorsed a Republican, the crowd broke out in applause.
Kirk criticized the mainstream media, saying they had “monopoly control.”
Additionally, speaking about the 2022 election, Kirk stated that “the machines have failed” and that “Kari Lake should be governor of this state.”
Kirk noted that eight of the 10 richest counties are around Washington, where the powers that be “taxed you senseless so they could get rich.” He said the attempted assassination of Trump was “the most watched televised miracle in history,” to thunderous applause.
Lake spoke before Trump. She compared the rally to Harris’s: “We don’t need to bus people, we don’t need free concerts, because we love America.”
She noted that the mainstream media had called the slow Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater “extreme.” She found it incredulous that “they would call a middle-aged mother like me a far-right extremist.” She said she was “right about everything” and was very concerned about “the future of my children and what Ruben Gallego is going to do to this country.”
She has taken a few digs at Ruben Gallego, with whom she is running for U.S. Senate. She said he is “to the left of Bernie Sanders and The Squad” yet runs ads to make him look like “a cross between Mister Rogers and GI Joe.” She said he is “basically Nancy Pelosi with a scruffy beard” and noted that when he was in the Arizona legislature, his colleagues called him a “troll.”
Lake said his behavior toward women was offensive. He once told a Latina that she was not Latina because she was a Republican. Lake said he left his wife, current Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, when she was nine months pregnant for a D.C. lobbyist.
He told donors the border was not his area of expertise and called police “the bad guys.” She said he defrauded Medicare. “I’m telling you all this because the fake media doesn’t want to write about it,” she said.
Lake added that the only people she would like to see out of work are criminals associated with illegal immigration, such as drug cartels and “propagandists in the media.”
Lake said the leading cause of death among adolescent people is fentanyl. She also called for the death penalty for “criminals who kill police officers in the line of duty.” She told all the law enforcement officers in the audience, “I have your back because you have my back.”
She said, “I will severely punish any school that pushes gender madness among our precious children. God did not put our children in the wrong body. Democrats always say, ‘Trust the science.’ Well, I do, and it says there are only two sexes.”
Trump began his speech by emphasizing that he won more votes in 2020 than he did in 2016, alluding to voter fraud. He noted that former President Barack Obama won fewer votes when he ran for office a second time but still won.
He addressed Harris, who replaced President Joe Biden in the presidential race. “I was up 18 points, so they told Biden to drop out.” He said a friend told him he did “too well” in the debate with Biden because it prompted Democrats to replace Biden. Trump noted that Harris was so unpopular when she ran for president in 2020 that she dropped out before the first state, Iowa, held its primary.
Trump called Harris a “radical left Marxist” who presided over “the worst border in history.” He said the Democratic Party is “the party of free health care for illegal immigrants.” He said the “real divide” is between “far-left fascists” and “traditional family values.” He slammed Democrats: “They want to arrest their political opponents and silence those who disagree with them.”
He called for the creation of a crime punishable by up to one year in prison for burning an American flag, referring to the fact that burning a Pride or BLM flag is prosecutable, unlike burning an American flag.
Trump cited his achievements in defeating ISIS “in three weeks” rather than five years as expected.
“They are slandering us, saying we are a threat to democracy,” he said, which is “a topic for discussion,” but “no, they are a threat to democracy.”
Trump brought Kennedy Jr. onstage and said he has never had more people asking him to release documents related to the assassinations of Kennedy Jr.’s father, Robert Kennedy, and his uncle, President John F. Kennedy. He said he plans to establish a panel to address the epidemic of Americans with chronic health problems, something Kennedy has championed.
Kennedy Jr. took to the podium and said regulatory agencies like the FDA are run by the large food companies they regulate. He criticized the money the Biden administration sent to Ukraine, saying it belongs “back in the United States.” He warned, “A government that can silence its opponents has a license for any kind of censorship.” Kennedy said, “Don’t you want a president who can make America healthy again?”
Trump resumed his speech and said Democrats had changed their tune at their national conference last week. He said they had talked about cutting taxes — but “they could have done that 3 1/2 years ago.” They were talking about border security — but “all you have to do is tell the Border Patrol to close the border.” He flashed a graph on a screen overhead showing the dramatic augment in illegal immigration under Biden.
He called Harris “the worst vice president in history” and “the only person who was nominated without a single vote.” He recounted how she “destroyed San Francisco as district attorney.” He called her a “liar” who “makes up nonsense.” He pointed out that she claimed she would raise taxes when he said he would impose tariffs if another country imposed them on the U.S. He pointed out that he imposed tariffs on China and there was no inflation. “Other presidents were afraid of China,” the former president said.
Trump spoke of the 325,000 migrant children who have disappeared during the Biden administration. He said they were either sold into sex slavery or died. He was equally grave about the hostages captured by Hamas. He said they were “largely gone,” meaning Hamas killed them, so “there’s nothing to negotiate.” He said if Hamas were afraid of Biden and Harris, they wouldn’t have attacked Israel. Trump said Iran is broke. Under his leadership, he said if someone bought Iranian oil, “they’ll never deal with the United States again.”
“They are now laughing at our country,” he said. “Our country has become a laughing stock.” Trump said the Biden administration is “importing MS-13 into our cities and high schools. … They have a license to shoot at American police.” He said “deportations are at an all-time low.”
He continued to criticize Harris. “She called for the abolition of ICE…she compared ICE agents to the KKK.”
He said she “wants to let criminals back into the country,” but added that he “might change his mind tonight” on that. He said Harris wants to give illegal immigrants Medicare and Social Security. But one of her deciding votes in the Senate as vice president was to cut Medicare funding by $266 billion. Trump said Harris had promised the country’s 26 million illegal immigrants amnesty the night before. He warned that would bankrupt Medicare and Social Security.
Trump cited several crime statistics, such as a 43 percent augment in violent crime under Biden and an 89 percent augment in aggravated assaults. He reminded the crowd that Harris “encouraged her supporters to donate” to lend a hand the killers get bail.
He said he would cut energy bills by more than 50 percent as president and enact “big tax cuts.” He promised to augment oil production and “take care of our country first.” He said he would “end the Green New Scam” and provide funding for infrastructure and roads. He promised to end the war in Ukraine — “as president-elect.” He said he would “end the weapons of government against the people, including me.” He would “restore free speech — fake news doesn’t allow that.” Trump concluded by saying he would “secure our election” and called for “a landslide victory that’s too big to steal.”
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Rachel Alexander is a reporter at This Arizona Sun Times AND Star News Network. Follow Rachel on X / Twitter. Email Tips [email protected].
Photo “Donald Trump and Robert Kennedy Jr.” by Team Trump.
