Donald Trump delivered his first public remarks since his debate against Kamala Harris at a campaign event on Thursday in Arizona, a key swing state that both candidates are eager to secure.
An estimated 5,000 people braved the blazing temperatures – which hovered just above 100F (37.8C) through the afternoon – to wait in line outside the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall in Tucson, an auditorium rented by the campaign that holds about 2,300 people. Meanwhile, city emergency crews responded to dozens of calls for heat injuries before Trump took the stage, according to local public radio reporter Alisa Zaira Reznick.
Trump stood before a backdrop etched with his campaign promises of “make housing affordable again” and “no tax on tips” – a signal that the speech would focus heavily on amplifying his economic platform. But instead, the former president used much of his time to reframe his debate performance – which even Trump’s own aides have admitted will not win him new voters – by casting it in a far more favorable light.
“We had a monumental victory over comrade Kamala Harris,” Trump said to cheers, using a deriding nickname and intentionally mispronouncing the vice-president’s first name. His depiction came in stark contrast to the widespread criticism over his sub-par performance from conservatives and progressives alike.
Trump blamed the moderators, who he called “low-life anchors”, complaining of mistreatment from the two veteran journalists who fact-checked his attempts at spreading misinformation during the debate.
But Trump made it clear: he has no desire for a do-over. “There will be no third debate,” he said.
Despite the advertised theme of the event, Trump did not spend much of the roughly hour-and-a-half speech sharing details of his economic plans. Instead, the Republican candidate dedicated the bulk of his time pandering to his base with meandering anecdotes, insulting his opponents, and reiterating many of his baseless talking points, including claims he won the last election.
He also focused heavily on immigration, a typical target for his rallies, stoking fears about waves of criminals crossing into the country and again accusing Haitian immigrants of eating animals in Springfield, Ohio.
“They take in the geese … and even walk off with their pets”, Trump said, repeating the unfounded and racist smear that has been challenged by the town’s officials and has inflamed tensions and attacks against members of the Haitian community.
Roughly an hour into his remarks, Trump shared some of his plans for the economy, promising no taxes on social security benefits, no taxes on tips, and announcing for the first time that he also wants to end taxes on overtime.
“We will defend the second amendment, restore free speech, and we will secure our elections. Everyone will prosper, every family will thrive, and every day will be filled with joy and opportunity and hope,” Trump said, asking his base to give him a landslide victory that’s “too big to rig”.
Arizona is a battleground state that the Trump and Harris campaigns have both devoted attention to this week. The second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, was also scheduled to visit Tucson, a Democratic-leaning enclave, on Thursday.
The Trump campaign was required to pay a $145,222.70 deposit for use of the auditorium and local police who would perform security duties at the event, a policy that was set by the city after the former president failed to settle an $80,000 bill for a rally held there in 2016.
“We learned our lesson,” Tucson city councilman Kevin Dahl told the Arizona Daily Star, adding that the city wrote off the debt.
Linda Ronstadt, the singer for whom the venue is named, issued a statement on Wednesday condemning the former president and declaring her support for Harris.
“I don’t just deplore his toxic politics, his hatred of women, immigrants and people of color, his criminality, dishonesty, and ignorance,” she said, after expressing her sadness that he brought his “hate show” to Tucson. The final straw, Ronstadt said, was the Trump administration’s treatment of migrant families seeking asylum.
“Family separation made orphans of thousands of little children and babies, and brutalized their desperate mothers and fathers,” she continued. “Trump first ran for president warning about rapists coming in from Mexico. I’m worried about keeping the rapist out of the White House.”