(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump spoke to a lively crowd in Phoenix Tuesday, rallying young voters and pushing for some key Republican congressional candidates caught in tight races.
A crowd of thousands of supporters braved the 100-degree heat to see the president speak at the Dream City Church in Phoenix. It’s unclear if the megachurch had sold to capacity, but images of the crowd showed few empty seats, even for social distancing purposes.
The campaign saw a half-full stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday, reportedly due in part to a social media campaign to buy up seats and then not attend. The Wall St. Journal reports about 6,200 people participated in the rally at the 19,000-seat BOK Center.
The BOK Center saw a significant presence of protesters. In Phoenix, protests outside of the megachurch became unruly during Trump’s speech, forcing police to declare it an unlawful assembly. This declaration allows law enforcement to arrest those who would not disburse.
Turning Point Action and Students For Trump, an affiliated nonprofit aimed at younger conservatives, organized the rally.
The president talked about positive COVID-19 statistics showing falling national death rates on the same day that Arizona public health officials announced 3,591 new cases, attributing 42 new deaths to the virus. The state has received national attention for its rapidly increasing cases.
Trump stumped for U.S. Sen. Martha McSally, who’s facing an uphill battle against Democrat Mark Kelly.
“Somebody who we need to keep in the Senate, a woman who works very hard, I just got back from, something you like, the border wall, Martha McSally,” Trump said. “We got to get her in and Mark Kelly, who she’s running against, is very weak on China and lots of other things. Between Biden and Kelly, if these people get in, China will own this country and they don’t own us at all.”
Kelly leads McSally in multiple polls.
Trump spoke kindly about Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, U.S. Reps. Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs, Debbie Lesko, David Schweikert, Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee, State House Speaker Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa, Senate President Karen Fann, R-Prescott, Navajo Nation Vice President Myron Lizer, and others from the state.
Despite many in the crowd not donning masks, a requirement put in place by the city of Phoenix and Maricopa County, local officials were all masked.
Trump talked up new weaponry, a hypersonic missile the U.S. military successfully tested in March.
Trump, who had just returned from a trip to the border wall in Yuma, received applause at the announcement of 220 miles of new border wall.
The president now travels to Wisconsin for a Thursday speech at a shipyard.
* This article was originally published here
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