President Donald Trump on Friday rallied his base for nearly an hour at a Turning Point USA event, Build the Red Wall, in Phoenix, Arizona. The president reportedly drew more than 3,000 attendees at the Dream City Church and joked "We could fill this place up four times," underscoring the excitement about his speech and returning to the Grand Canyon State. It was the president’s first time back in Arizona since he spoke at Charlie Kirk's memorial service in September in Glendale.
Trump opened with a heartfelt message about his friend, which garnered the strongest applause: “Seven months ago, our country lost a fearless warrior, my friend, for freedom. And he was just an amazing man. He was an amazing person, Charlie Kirk. Just an amazing guy.”
Kirk’s widow Erika, spoke before the president about Charlie’s revelation of a strategy after his successful “Chase the Vote” mobilization program that flipped Arizona and secured it for President Trump in 2024.
“I'll never forget after that election. I know none of you will either. Charlie's sitting there. He was going through the numbers, he was going through the maps, he was looking at them. Looking at all of the data points. And he said to us, he goes, this is it. He said the red wall, he said if you can secure Arizona, Nevada, and New Hampshire, and you're investing into these states and not just into these races, he said their maps will collapse and their strategies will fail, and it inspired us to no end. [It] totally inspired us. But we don't get to just sit back and admire that win from 2024. We have to fight to protect it. Every day.”
Build the Red Wall
Kirk called for Republicans to show up with 80 to 90% voter turnout in the November midterm elections to “fortify the red wall for the next decade,” distinguished between the work it takes to get out the vote and talk to people, and others who were actively trying to divide people and tear the country apart. Outside, supporters and protesters gathered. FOX 10 Phoenix reported the president’s supporters lined up early, some as early as Thursday night. The Arizona Central reported a line of multi-generational protesters dotted a quarter-mile stretch of the road to the church:
“And what gets built lasts for generations long after the noise has run out of one-liners. No one understands this better than President Trump. No one, no matter what they throw at him. He perseveres in the face of adversity because the mission is too important. Because this country is worth fighting for, and he is not alone in this fight, and we are blessed to be Americans and we are going to fight like it and ladies and gentlemen, there is no one else I'd rather have on our side than President Donald Trump.”
President Trump echoed his calls to fight for the country that became the iconic memorialization of his response to the failed assassination attempt on him in July of 2024.
“We are the inheritors of the most incredible civilization that has ever existed. And our task is to defend it. We have to defend it. Past leaders used our wealth and power to make other countries rich and treated our military like a charity for the world while getting barely a word of thanks in return. Nobody thanks us.”
Trumpeting Triumphs
The president trumpeted his domestic and foreign policy successes one day after highlighting his “No Tax on Tips” policy in Las Vegas on Thursday, and during one of the most consequential weeks of the war in Iran. Trump said Iran has agreed to turn over their enriched uranium to the US, and the regime “has just announced the Strait of Hormuz is fully open and ready for business and ready for passage.” Trump projected strength and humor, taking swings at Democrats and NATO – for its one-sided relationship with the US.
Trump was met with thunderous applause and credited his supporters that helped him have the best first year of his presidency. Themes of the success of Operation Epic Fury, just mentioning Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s name, and teasing the release of documents pertaining to UFOs also received strong applause. Still, it was clear the president was asking for their vote for Republicans in the midterms so he could continue his agenda to crack down on crime and rampant fraud:
“With your support, we will crush violent crime, impose harsh new penalties for repeat offenders. I mean, we have pe people that have been taken in 28 times. We have some 28 times and they let them go out 2 days later. Crackdown on Marxist prosecutors and rogue judges. The judges are horrible. Ed deadly sanctuary cities in our country. And Ed, no cash bail, which really started it all. No cash bail is a disaster. Somebody shoots somebody, they go in, they just let them out, then they go shoot somebody else the same day. We will stop the radical left Democrats' rampant looting of your taxpayer dollars. And we will win the war on fraud which is being headed by our great vice president, JD Vance. We're going to win. We're going to win.”
Flipping the Script
President Trump’s speech comes at a time when several polls have his approval rating hovering between 39.8 and 41.5%. Trump in his signature style, flipped the script to drive up voter enthusiasm and drive home the importance of the state: “Don't believe the polls. Too big to rig. We made it too big to rig. Just keep going. No matter what you see, go out and vote.”
Trump’s message was personal, energetic, and reminiscent of his campaign rallies: giving his best pitch, connecting with his supporters, thanking local officials and Congressional lawmakers, and being received with cheers and applause. The president’s patriotism is always a central theme and on Friday, it was his closing position:
“For almost 250 years, our nation has stood as an inspiration to humanity and proof of what American faith and courage can achieve. It's amazing what's happened, especially what's happened over the last year….With your support in these midterms, we will continue this momentum and achieve total and ultimate victory for America. We will fight, fight, fight, and win win win. And together, we will make America powerful again. We will make America wealthy again. We will make America healthy again. We will make America strong again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again and we will make America great again. Thank you very much, Arizona. Thank you. Thank you. Win those midterms. Thank you, everybody.”
Trump’s speech at Turning Point USA’s event closed a consequential week in the midst of a cease-fire with Iran, serving as a strategic early midterm election rally in a battleground state that he was able to flip in 2024, with the Charlie’s efforts through the organization.
