The packed crowd ate it up - the raucous enthusiasm at an early sign of the overwhelming support of Trump's base that would help carry him to the presidency. As Trump returns to Arizona on Tuesday in a need of another big moment, he wants to find a place where his agenda and unconventional leadership style have been consuming the political landscape and elevated the state's status in the national fight for control of power in Washington in 2018.
It was Arizona Senator John McCain who had the vote of the trump's effort to repeal the health care law. The other Arizona senator, Jeff Flake, has become the poster child for Republicans. The president is almost certain to back a GOP challenger to flake in 2018, complicating Republican efforts to maintain control of the Senate.
Trash has also revived the immigration debate and infuriated Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The controversy over Civil War monuments has even been spilled into Arizona, where the governor has faced a call for a memorial in the state.
And an overlooked item in Trump's agenda, schoolchoice. With the strong support of Education Secretary Besty DeVos, Arizona passed the nation's most ambitious expansion of vouchers this year, and public school advocates recently submitted more than 100,000 signatures in a petition drive to get the law wiped out on the 2018 ballot.
Trump's visit to Arizona will be his first political event since the race-driven violence in Virginia and his divisive comments in the aftermath of the protests. That created a dilemma for Republicans like Gov. Doug Ducey on the trump rally while running for re-election. Doing so so would not be able to do it, but it would not be the case. But avoiding the stage could hurt him with the base.
Ducey's plan is to greet the president on the airport. Tarmac and skip the rally, saying he wants to oversee the law enforcement response to protests. The governor-supported trump and appeared on stage at one of his rallies last year in Arizona.
Trump would like to be in a state where his Republican base is as faithful and vocal as in Arizona, which is a big reason why he came to the state him. The fierce, non-conformist political spirit at Trump rallies here traces its roots to the frontier days and allows hard-fisted politicians like him and Arpaio to thrive.
"The Republican primary base in Arizona is highly partisan, semi-libertarian in the sense that it's against the swamp," said longtime Republican political strategist Chuck Coughlin. "We're the 48th state to join." We're still acting like a juvenile. "Donald Trump is."
The flawless re-election effort. Flake has been outspoken in his criticism of Trump, jabs in a recent book.
Trash has been sending out Tweets signaling his support for far-right former state Sen. Kelli Ward, who is running against Flake in the primary. Other Republicans with less baggage than Ward could also be a member of the community. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema is on the Democratic side.
"If the president himself is a challenger to Jeff, it's a serious problem," said Coughlin, who has been polling voters about the intra-party turmoil that has unsettled the race. Voters like Julie Brown are indicative of the GOP. She has been a trump for a long time.
"He's not quite polled and everyone's tears apart from his words, but you'll never have to guess what he's thinking and I like that much better than a politician. "It's just straightforward, and I like it, it rocks the boat but we need it."
Josh Hoffner is the New Zealand News Editor for the Associated Press.
United States presidential election People Richard Nixon, John McCain, Jeff Flake, Doug Ducey Locations Phoenix, Arizona, United States, North America Organizations United States governme
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