Screenshot from Kari Lake for Governor campaign video
By Ronald J. Hanse | Arizona Republic
Former President Donald Trump returned Saturday to Arizona, a state that has been central to his political rise and fall.
Trump focused on casting doubt on his electoral loss and lobbed barbs at his political foes — Democrats and Republicans alike. Meanwhile, most Republican contenders for the U.S. Senate, governor and secretary of state races sought to impress Trump voters as they talked to the nearly 5,000 in attendance at the Arizona Federal Theatre in Phoenix.
Here are five things we learned from the event, which was hosted by the conservative, Phoenix-based Turning Point Action.
Trump hasn’t moved on
The former president spent a lot of his 107-minute speech questioning the election results in Arizona and elsewhere. He also talked about what he views as a dangerous lapse in border security and a rise in inflation under President Joe Biden.
He didn’t comment on running for president again in 2024, though signs in the crowd made clear many hope he will.
If Trump’s political career is over, he isn’t talking that way. His words were not the ones of a detached ex-president offering policy observations or someone looking to transfer his support to the next generation.
Six months out of office, Trump packed bitterness and a familiar America-in-chaos theme into his words. Gauging by the enthusiastic agreement from those on hand, Trump is still in sync with his base.
Unlike other Trump events, however, it was less clear what Trump wants from his supporters.
He wasn’t asking for their votes, and he didn’t make any endorsements from the stage. He supports the ongoing review of Maricopa County ballots by the Arizona Senate, but that is happening anyway. He claimed credit for the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines, blamed Biden for botching the rollout, and didn’t urge the audience to get their shots.
The crowd reinforced Trump’s views with long, loud applause, and maybe that’s all either needed.
Kari Lake one to watch in governor’s race
