President Donald Trump returned to Arizona for the second time this year, riling up a Bullhead City crowd with talk of stolen elections, promises of an economic boom and insults leveled at state Democrats.
It was unusual for a Republican president to target Mohave County, a GOP stronghold that ordinarily needs no persuasion to turn out for the party in droves.
Trump’s hour-and-45-minute speech was delivered in his usual meandering style, ranging from a defense of his economic and foreign policy agenda to a declaration that people who leak information to the media “should be shot.”
Although the president was surrounded by supporters, two high-profile Republicans in the state were conspicuously absent.
Here are five key takeaways from the president’s
visit.
Vulnerable Arizona Republicans stayed away from Trump rally
The president’s rally attracted a who’s who of Arizona Republicans to Bullhead City.
Many of the state’s Republican members of Congress were there to support Trump — with some notable exceptions.
Reps. Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs and Abe Hamadeh all delivered remarks before the president took the stage.
Rep. Eli Crane, who is facing a closer-than-expected reelection fight, attended the event, according to his campaign, but never appeared onstage. A spokesperson for Crane told The Arizona Republic he was traveling with the president on Air Force One.
Others skipped the event altogether. Jay Feely and Rep. Juan Ciscomani, the GOP nominees in Arizona’s two most competitive congressional districts, both told The Republic they had other plans that day.
Their absence was a sign of the headwinds facing down-ballot Republican candidates. The president appears to be hurting his party in the polls, as the conflict in Iran and Trump’s tariffs have contributed to rising frustration about the economy. Democrats have spent millions of dollars on ads that emphasize Feely and Ciscomani’s ties to Trump.
"It would be political suicide for either of them to show up in Bullhead City," Doug Cole, a consultant with the conservative firm HighGround, told The Arizona Republic.
Trump says those who leak information to press 'should be shot'
Some of the most pointed language in the president’s speech came when he discussed people who leak information about his administration to the press.
“Leakers should be shot,” he told the Bullhead City crowd.
Speaking from behind a pane of security glass, Trump described a situation in which he called off a military offensive in Iran because information was reported by the media. He appeared to be referring to planned U.S. attacks on Iranian nuclear sites in 2025, though he didn’t specify.
“In the old days we used to shoot leakers, you know,” Trump told the Arizona crowd on Oct. 14. “Leakers should be dealt with very, very strongly. To me, they’re the scum of the earth.”
More than two years have passed since he was shot at and his ear was grazed during an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.
A former White House communications director claimed Trump made similar remarks behind closed doors during his first term. A Trump spokesperson said in response to the report that “the best revenge is success.”
The president went on to criticize the media during his remarks in Bullhead City, saying reporters are “almost as bad” as leakers. “I think they make up a lot of the sources,” he said.
Trump asks about Sheriff Joe, wins praise from Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The rally also raised questions about another absent Arizona Republican: Joe Arpaio, the former sheriff of Maricopa County.
Trump asked about the sheriff partway through his speech, as part of a round of shout-outs thanking local elected officials for hosting him in Arizona.
"I heard somebody said that the great Sheriff Joe Arpaio might be here. Is that true? He's a legend," Trump said.
Trump then appeared to engage in a conversation with someone offstage.
"He got hurt, you said?" Trump asked. "What happened to him? Coming here?"
The president turned back to face the crowd.
"He hurt his leg," Trump said. "We gotta make sure he's OK. He must be about 125."
Arpaio, 94, has run for local and statewide office several times since he lost reelection as Maricopa County Sheriff in 2016, ending his 24-year tenure. Arpaio and an aide could not be reached for comment.
Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. joined Trump on stage briefly in Bullhead City, saying America was the best country in the world and reminiscing about his time representing the U.S. in the 1996 Olympics.
"We couldn't have chosen a better president twice than Donald Trump," Mayweather said.
Mayweather has previously expressed support for the president and told media outlets in 2017 that he would attend Trump's first inauguration.
Trump brushes off concerns over Iran, tariffs
Trump broached some of the most sensitive topics of his second term with a relatively relaxed tone.
High gas prices fueled by the war in Iran and increasingly unpopular tariffs have sunk Trump’s favorability numbers considerably in recent months. The president repeated a promise he’s made for several months now: The war in Iran would be ending soon.
“When that ends, your gasoline is going to go down to even lower than it was before,” Trump said, saying higher gas prices were a “very small price” to pay.
He also defended his policy of widespread tariffs, arguing his 50% tariff on foreign copper was boosting Arizona's local copper industry. He also took credit for growth in Arizona’s semiconductor industry.
Trump followed with complaints over the number of questions he’s faced from media and constituents over the country’s cost of living. He pointed to historically low levels of poverty as a sign of economic strength.
He also claimed that more Americans were working than ever before, and making more money. But recent data shows that wages are not rising as fast as inflation and that the unemployment rate remains at 4.2%. That’s higher than levels seen in 2023.
On the same day as Trump’s Bullhead City rally, the U.S. Labor Department released its latest inflation numbers. Costs have risen by 3.7% over the last year, which was more than expected.
Trump reignites election conspiracy theories ahead of Arizona’s midterms
Trump continued to make false claims that Republican candidate Kari Lake won the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial race, alleging there was systemic election fraud.
"I want to give my respects to that person; she's a very good person," Trump said, referencing Lake. "She won that election. She probably won the other one too."
Lake ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2024, losing to Democrat Ruben Gallego.
Trump claimed that in 2022, Republican voters were intentionally targeted, citing glitches that affected dozens of Maricopa County voting machines on Election Day.
"The damn machines were broken in Republican areas," Trump said. "They were broken purposefully."
At the time, voters who were impacted had the option to place their ballots in a secure box to be counted later, vote at another polling location, or return later in the day after the problems were addressed.
Hobbs ultimately won by a margin of less than 1%, a difference of roughly 17,000 votes. She had made a name for herself in 2020 by going up against election denialism.
Lake challenged the results of the election in 2022, with multiple judges finding she failed to prove her case and affirming Hobbs won the election.
Laura Gersony covers politics for The Arizona Republic. Contact her at Laura.Gersony@usatodayco.com or 480-372-0389.
Helen Rummel covers state politics and higher education for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at hrummel@azcentral.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @helenrummel.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 5 takeaways from Trump’s Bullhead City rally
