Crowd fills Glendale Stadium for rally with Donald Trump and new supporter Robert Kennedy Jr.

GLENDALE, Arizona – Thousands of people showed up for former President Donald Trump’s Turning Point USA rally in Glendale, west of Phoenix, with many standing in line all night to get good seats.

Robert Kennedy Jr. joined Trump at the Desert Diamond Arena on Friday to show his support, after suspending his presidential campaign in Arizona and nine other swing states just hours earlier. Kennedy had previously said at a news conference in downtown Phoenix that if he stayed in the race, Vice President Kamala Harris might win because he would be taking votes from Trump.

Several candidates running for office in Arizona spoke in Trump’s favor, 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 prioritized over foreigners.

He was echoing a theme that had been echoed by other speakers, namely that Democrats are trying to prosecute and jail Republicans. When he said that this might be the first time a Kennedy had supported a Republican, the crowd erupted in cheers.

Kirk criticized the mainstream media, saying its members have “monopolistic control.”

Furthermore, when talking about the 2022 election, Kirk said that the “machines failed” and that “Kari Lake should be governor of this state.”

Kirk noted that eight of the 10 wealthiest districts are around Washington, DC, where the powers that be “drag you into oblivion so they can get richer.” He said the attempted assassination of Trump was “the most witnessed television miracle in history,” drawing thunderous applause.

Lake spoke before Trump. She compared the rally to Harris rallies: “We don’t need to bus people in, we don’t need free concerts, because we love America.”

She pointed out that the mainstream media has called the late Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater “extreme.” She found it unbelievable that “they would call a middle-aged mother like me a far-right extremist.” She said she “was right about everything” and that she worries deeply about “the future of her children and what Ruben Gallego is going to do to this country.”

She repeatedly took aim at Ruben Gallego, whom she is running against for senator, saying he is “to the left of Bernie Sanders and The Squad,” yet runs ads that make him look like “a cross between Mr. Rogers and GI Joe.” She said he is “just Nancy Pelosi with a scraggly beard” and pointed out that when he served in the Arizona legislature, his colleagues nicknamed him “the troll.”

Lake said his behavior toward women is insulting. He once told a Latina she wasn’t 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 lobbyist in Washington, D.C.

He told donors that the border was not his area of ​​expertise and called the police “the bad guys.” She said he had defrauded Medicare. “I’m telling you all this because the fake news media doesn’t want to report it,” she said.

Lake added that the only people she wants to see removed from their jobs are criminals associated with illegal immigration, such as the drug cartels and “the propagandists in the media.”

Lake said fentanyl is the number one killer of young people. 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 backs because you have my backs.”

She said, “I will crack down on any school that pushes gender madness on our precious children. God did not put our children in the wrong bodies. Democrats always say, ‘Trust the science.’ Well, I do, and it says there are only two genders.”

Trump began his speech by pointing out that he received more votes in 2020 than he did in 2016, implying election fraud. He noted that former President Barack Obama, by contrast, received fewer votes when he ran for a second time but still won.

He spoke about Harris replacing President Joe Biden in the presidential race. “I was up 18 points, so they left Biden 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 withdrew before the first state held its primary, Iowa.

Trump called Harris a “radical left-wing Marxist” who presided over the “worst border in history.” He said the Democratic Party is “the party of free health care for illegal aliens.” He said the “real divide” is between “far-left fascists” and “traditional family values.” He lashed out at Democrats: “They want to arrest their political opponents and silence those who disagree.”

He advocated making burning the American flag punishable by a year in prison, referring to the fact that burning a pride flag or BLM flag can be punishable, unlike burning the American flag.

Trump pointed to his record of defeating ISIS “in three weeks” instead of the expected five years.

“They are vilifying us as a threat to democracy,” he said, which is a “talking point,” but “no, they are a threat to democracy.”

Trump brought Kennedy Jr. to the podium and said that never before have so many people been asking him to release the documents about the assassinations of Kennedy Jr.’s father, Robert Kennedy, and his uncle, President John F. Kennedy. He said he would put together a panel to investigate the epidemic of Americans with chronic health conditions, something Kennedy has advocated for.

Kennedy Jr. took the podium and said that regulatory agencies like the FDA are run by the big food companies they regulate. He criticized the money the Biden administration sent to Ukraine, saying it belongs “back in the United States.” He warned, “Any administration that can silence its opponents has a license for any form of censorship.” Kennedy said, “Don’t you want a president who’s going to make America healthy again?”

Trump resumed his speech, saying that Democrats changed their minds at their national convention last week. He said they talked about cutting taxes, but “they could have done that 3.5 years ago.” They talked about border security, but “all you have to do is tell Border Patrol to close the border.” He showed a graph on the overhead screen showing the sharp increase in illegal immigration under the Biden administration.

He called Harris “the worst vice president in history” and the “only person nominated without a single vote.” He discussed how “she destroyed San Francisco as district attorney.” He called her a “liar” who “makes up nonsense.” He pointed out that she claimed he 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 that there was no inflation. “Other presidents were afraid of China,” the former president said.

Trump discussed the 325,000 migrant children who disappeared during the Biden administration. He said they were either trafficked into sex slavery or dead. He was equally somber when talking about the hostages captured by Hamas. He said they are “largely gone,” meaning Hamas has killed them, so there is “nothing to negotiate.” He said that if Hamas were afraid of Biden and Harris, they would not have attacked Israel. Trump said that Iran was broke. In contrast, he said that if anyone under his leadership buys oil from Iran, “they will never do business with the United States again.”

“Now they’re laughing at our country,” he said. “Our country has become a joke.” Trump said the Biden administration is “importing MS-13 into our cities and our high schools. … They have a license to shoot American police officers.” He said “deportations are at the lowest level.”

He continued to criticize Harris. “She called for the abolition of ICE…. compared ICE agents to the KKK.”

He said she wants to “send criminal immigrants into the country,” but said she “might change her mind tonight.” He said Harris wants to give illegal immigrants Medicare and Social Security. However, one of her tie-breaking votes in the Senate as vice president was to cut Medicare funding by $266 billion. Trump said Harris had promised amnesty to the 26 million illegal immigrants in the country the night before. He warned that this would bankrupt Medicare and Social Security.

Trump cited several crime statistics, such as violent crimes increasing 43 percent under the Biden administration and aggravated assaults increasing 89 percent. He reminded the crowd that Harris “encourages her followers to donate” to help murderers get bail.

He said that as president, he would cut energy bills by more than 50 percent and make “major tax cuts.” He promised to increase oil production and “take care of our country first.” He said he would “end the Green New Scam” and shift funding to infrastructure and roads. He promised to end the war in Ukraine — “as president-elect.” He said he would “end the weaponization of the government against people, including myself.” He would “restore free speech — the fake news won’t allow that.” Trump concluded by declaring that he would “secure our elections” and called for “a landslide too big to manipulate.”

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Rachel Alexander is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times And The Star News Network. Follow Rachel on X / Twitter. Email tips to (email address).
Photo “Donald Trump and Robert Kennedy Jr.” by Team Trump.