SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A wave of people with “Make America Great Again” hats and shirts lined up at a guns and ammunition manufacturing facility to hear Sen. JD Vance’s final pitch ahead of Election Day on Tuesday.
“In just three short days, we are going to return the White House back to the American people,” Vance said to a few thousand people on Saturday afternoon in Scottsdale at Dillon Precision. “We’re in a very, very good spot in Arizona, but I don’t want us to get lazy.”
During his 20-minute-long remarks, Vance said that former President Donald Trump will fix what Vice President Harris broke.
Vance was joined by Donald Trump Jr., Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, Senate candidate Kari Lake, Arizona state Senate candidate Carine Werner, Arizona state Rep. Steve Montenegro and Arizona GOP chair Gina Swoboda, all of whom helped make the case for voters to support Vance and Trump. Vance’s wife, Usha, also accompanied him to the event, but she did not give any remarks.
JD Vance: There’s ‘a lot more joy on our side’
Addressing immigration, Vance spoke about the overwhelming number of migrants who came through Arizona the last few years, blaming the Biden-Harris administration’s policies for perpetuating the crisis at the southern border. He also criticized the current administration for not dealing with Mexican cartels that traffic deadly drugs into the U.S.
“Here’s my solid promise, is that when Donald J. Trump is the president of the United States, we’re going to go to war against the Mexican drug cartels, get that poison … out of our country and return to basic sanity,” Vance said. He went on to promise a “golden age of peace and prosperity” and “to make the American dream more affordable again.”
The Republican vice presidential candidate criticized Harris for dodging unscripted media interviews and for her responses to questions in the interviews she has given.
“(The media will) say that, ‘Well, the Kamala Harris campaign is the campaign of joy,’” Vance said. “I think we have a hell of a lot more joy on our side right now.”
He called on folks to join his “big tent party,” adding, “You’re welcome in this big tent, so long as you believe in common sense, but we have got to stop electing politicians who call half of the country garbage, who call half the country Nazis, who call half the country fascists.”
Donald Trump Jr. speaks prior to Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, taking the stage at a campaign rally Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Scottsdale, Ariz. | Ross D. Franklin
Trump Jr. recounts trip to McDonald’s, Charlie Kirk talks numbers
Donald Trump Jr. introduced Vance with an anecdote about a recent father-son fishing trip he took with his 10- and 14-year-olds that included a visit to McDonald’s. “Let’s be clear, when Donald Trump Jr. has sticker shock at McDonald’s, it’s a serious problem.”
He admitted he is “reasonably spoiled,” being the “son of a billionaire from Manhattan.” But, he added, “When I grew up, I did not realize that McDonald’s was a luxury item,” before blaming this on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Kirk repeated one number for the Arizona supporters to know. “There are 400,000 Republican ballots here in Maricopa County that have yet to be returned,” Kirk said. “We have to find those ballots, and we have to get them into the system.” On top of being one of the handful of swing counties, Maricopa County is also one of the biggest counties in the U.S. in terms of population.
Kirk, whose organization is leading ballot-chasing events in Arizona, said he remembers “the sickness in his stomach” when Trump lost the Grand Canyon State in 2020.
“We are literally next to precincts that voted for Joe Biden. We are next to precincts that voted for Mark Kelly. And it’s not because they won the argument,” he said, urging voters to exercise their right to vote and take their friends and neighbors with them to the polls.
The Turning Point founder also addressed Arizona State Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, for saying she would investigate Trump over his comments about former Rep. Liz Cheney at an event in Phoenix earlier this week with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson.
Trump called Cheney a “radical war hawk,” and said her feelings about war would change if “guns are trained on her face.” Harris and Cheney criticized Trump over the remarks, and Mayes said she would investigate the presidential candidate.
“I have already asked my criminal division chief to start looking at that statement, analyzing it for whether it qualifies as a death threat under Arizona’s laws,” Mayes, a Democrat, said in a television appearance. Kirk pushed back, saying, “Instead of our attorney general carrying out the cartels killing our kids, she’s trying to investigate the speech of Donald Trump.”
At one point, Kirk, who grew up in Chicago, said the one thing he loves about Arizona is that there are “very few native Arizonans, unless you’re a (Latter-Day Saint),” jokingly adding, “They’re usually fifth generation, right?” He said this at least held true at the Turning Point offices.
What is the attraction to Arizona for outsiders? “This state is what California used to be in the 1950s,” he said, adding the state has a glimmer of opportunity, hope, and a taste of “the American spirit.”
Supporters of former Republican President Donald Trump listen to Donald Trump Jr. speak prior to Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, taking the stage at a campaign event Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Scottsdale, Ariz. | Ross D. Franklin
Lake, during her spirited remarks, gave the audience a taste of the Republican plan to reform the “Fake News.” The Senate candidate threatened the licenses broadcast media networks get issued by the Federal Communications Commission. “We’re going to take a long, hard look at the FCC licenses that these people have. We give them those licenses, and they lie to us,” she said.
Voters tired, but resilient
At one point, Lake asked how many people had already voted, and a majority of hands went up. She advised those voting in person next week to not get out of line until they cast their ballots.
“I know we’re all sick and tired of the commercials. We’re sick and tired of just the heaviness of this political season, but in three days, we save our country, we take back our country,” she said.
Despite having already cast their ballots, many voters say they are attempting to keep their energy high during these final days of voting. Barri Marion and Sam Odle stood in line to grab yard signs after the event. They’ve seen former President Donald Trump at a rally before. “He’s here in Arizona nonstop,” said Odle.
Marion said she stood by Vance’s arguments for closing the border and bringing an end to human trafficking. Democrats are running “commercials four to one against us. The money that they have raised compared to what the Republicans have raised is a whole different ball of wax. But at least the Republican Party speaks the truth,” she said.
Odle is tired of the ads, too. To him, Trump and Vance stand for freedom and fairness. “Everybody should be treated equal. … That’s what we need to return to. And if you look and see what Trump actually did with his policies, you know, I call it fairness. Make America fair again.” He hopes Election Day brings change.
Mark Hackert, retired, 69, said he feels “excited for the conservative movement.” This is his first rally in years.
“I would typically vote on Election Day … but this is the first time I voted early,” he said, pointing to the printer and voting machine failures that have hurt voters’ trust. “Most people here voted early.”
“My faith is ultimately in Jesus,” Hackert said. “And you know, it doesn’t matter, who wins, I’m not gonna have a riot.”
Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks at a campaign event, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Scottsdale, Ariz. | Ross D. Franklin
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