With only 23 days until Election Day, the former president is going all-in on painting a dark, hellish picture of immigration issues in Arizona and beyond. He spoke for about 90 minutes on Sunday at the Findlay Toyota Center, at first reading remarks primarily focused on border security, an invented crime wave stemming from increased immigration and deporting immigrants. Then, as it usually does, Trump’s train of thought jumped the tracks, and the 78-year-old rambled about anything and everything that came to mind.
It was a quintessential Trump stump speech, a nonsensical stream-of-consciousness monologue. It was boring and low-energy, and people began leaving before it ended. Still, the atmosphere was campy and cheesy, like a carnival with a ranting comedian headliner who stopped ad-libbing just long enough to warn that America is headed down the drain.
Phoenix New Times was there. Here are the five oddest things we saw at the rally.
Some classic fascism
Trump: We’re now known as an occupied country… it’s really no different than if we had a war and lost the war pic.twitter.com/6tT2RMmNQf
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 13, 2024
Trump launched his presidential hopes in May 2015 with an infamous speech dehumanizing immigrants and railing against Mexicans. That rhetoric was extreme at the time, but it now pales in comparison to the downright fascist things Trump has said this election cycle.
Trump’s speech, made in front of members of the Border Patrol union, made several references to America being “occupied” by immigrants. A nativist message was the central theme of the rally.
“We’re now known all throughout the world as an occupied country. One of the papers said in another country that we are an occupied country. And you know what? They’re not that wrong,” Trump said. “But these gentlemen will unoccupy us very quickly. It’s really no different than if we had a war and lost a war. But to everyone here in Arizona and all across the land, I make this pledge: Nov. 5, 2024, will be liberation day in America. It’s gonna be liberation day. It’s gonna happen so fast.”
Trump said he would “dismantle every migrant criminal network operating” on U.S. soil, an undertaking he would call “Operation Aurora.” That’s a reference to Aurora, Colorado, where Trump has spun tales of migrant gangs overrunning apartment complexes. People who actually live in Aurora have characterized Trump’s claims about migrants in the city as “lies.”
Trump also called for the death penalty for migrants who kill an American citizen. That suggestion drew significant applause and cries of “Yes!” from the crowd outside the venue.
Love that TiVo!
Trump: TIVO.. the greatest invention in history pic.twitter.com/Xgpi9R9AXv
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 13, 2024
Trump mentioned that Kari Lake, the Republican taking on Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego for one of Arizona’s Senate seats, was in the audience.
“I watched her debate. I watched — I haven’t even spoken to her since — I watched your debate though at about 3 o’clock in the morning.”
Trump had some praise for Lake — but more for television recording technology.
“You know, the TiVo or its equivalent, I give it … The greatest invention in history, TiVo or its equivalent,” Trump said to Lake. “I watched your debate due to that kind of thing that we can do nowadays. You destroyed that poor guy.”
If Lake “destroyed” Gallego, she wasn’t willing to make that case to the press after the debate last week. The former newscaster may have come across as polished, but she spent the entire debate making wildly false claims and talking over Gallego and the moderators.
Azurasians?
Some serious teleprompter fail when Trump tries to say "Arizonans" at his rally in AZ today 😳🤦♂️pic.twitter.com/EFUvRmnlcq
— Josh '𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓝𝓸𝓽𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓸𝓾𝓼 𝓙𝓟𝓖 ' Gray 🌵 (@AZNotoriousJPG) October 14, 2024
Trump also said there were “many Azurasians in the room.” He either meant “Arizonans” or "Assyrians" or was trying to blame a new ethnic group for COVID-19.
Relatedly, the former president claimed “the fake news media” pounces on any small mistake he makes and obsesses over his rambling speaking style.
“I’ve never had a story that said Trump was a great speaker,” Trump said. “For weeks and weeks, I’m up here ranting and raving. Last night, a hundred thousand people — flawless, ranting and raving. I’m ‘ranting and raving.’ Not a mistake. And then, I’ll get a little thing, and I’ll say something a little bit like ‘the.’ I’ll say, ‘duh.’ They’ll say, ‘He’s cognitively impaired.’ No. I’ll let you know when I will be. I will be someday.”
If this is cognitively unimpaired, the Trump show is going to get pretty ridiculous when he does start slipping.
The Trump merch economy
At a Trump rally, one has to wonder: What will happen to the Trump merchandise economy if he loses?
Dozens of vendors were lined up outside the Findlay Toyota Center. It was a bazaar of cliches and bad taste — endless aisles with shirts about making something great again, hats with “47” on them. Among them was a shirt that read:
Roses are red
Kamala’s not Black
Joe has dementia
And Hunter’s on crack
It’s truly remarkable how the Donald Trump brand has developed so extensively. Almost everyone at the event wore some kind of Trump or anti-Biden gear. Nobody did this with Mitt Romney. It is a collective obsession for a small group of hardcore followers who have made Trump their identity with a fervor matched only by NFL fan bases.
What happens to all this gear if Trump loses? Do “Hunter Biden’s a crackhead” shirts make for a good first-date outfit? “Oh, my hat? I just, uh, really love the number 47.”
The silence of the lambs
Supporters of Donald Trump watch a video feed of his rally outside the Findlay Totoya Center in Prescott Valley.
TJ L'Heureux
Outside the arena where Trump spoke, a subdued calm lulled over the people watching his speech on a screen. Almost no one spoke — everyone was dialed in to Trump’s strange fireside chat. The crowd had a zombielike quality, sucking up misinformation mostly in silence and without reaction.
It was undeniably eerie and disconcerting.
