An awkward kiss and a promise of mass deportations: 5 takeaways from Trump’s Arizona stop

Former President Donald Trump delivered an alternately playful and fiery address — and at least one kiss — in Arizona on Thursday as he visited the Grand Canyon State for the first time in nearly two years.

It was Trump’s first political rally since a New York jury convicted him last week of 34 felonies in connection with hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016 to conceal their sexual relations.

Here are five key takeaways about his Thursday event.

Trump brushes over his felony verdict onstage

Trump wasted no time in calling his New York trial a "rigged" case and said his only crime was winning the 2016 election over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

He didn’t address the hush money payments he paid to a porn star to conceal their sexual relationship ahead of the 2016 election. Instead, he blasted the judge overseeing the case.

“I just went through a rigged trial in New York, with a highly conflicted — and I mean highly conflicted — judge, where there was no crime. It was made up, fabricated stuff,” Trump said minutes into his speech at the conservative-aligned Dream City Church in northern Phoenix.

Trump spent most of the town hall discussing immigration. He panned Biden’s recent executive action to restrict access to asylum along the U.S.-Mexico border, which essentially guarantees an immediate shutdown of all asylum processing between border crossings.

Instead, he pledged to undertake "the largest domestic deportation operation" in the country's history if reelected.

Trump peppered his address with coy remarks and jibes.

"They come up with this order," Trump said of Biden's executive action.

"I won't say it because I don't like using the words," he said, before immediately relieving the suspense: 'B------t.'"

The crowd gleefully chanted the expletive back to him in response.

This time it was almost all about Trump

Maybe the biggest difference between the town hall and earlier Trump events was the near-total focus on Trump.

Other than remarks from Turning Point co-founder Charlie Kirk long before Trump came on stage, the event belonged to the man at the top of the ticket for Republicans this year.

In earlier rallies, Trump invited the recipients of his coveted endorsements to speak. Not for long, but at least for a few moments to praise him, to see the crowds he draws and stand next to someone with real power.

'Latinos for Lake': Candidate attempts to reach essential Arizona voting bloc in US Senate race

On Thursday, Trump quickly dispensed with shout-outs to most of the state’s congressional delegation and two of his preferred candidates, Kari Lake for the U.S. Senate and Abe Hamadeh for Congress.

No pol shared the stage with Trump except for the one man Trump summoned: former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, an early ally and a personal friend.

The format kept the focus on Trump and lent an all-business feel to an event that lacked the carnival quality that some of his earlier visits have had.

Trump mounts praise, and a kiss, on Joe Arpaio

Trump summoned Arpaio to the stage for an awkward peck on the cheek as Trump continued to lament what has become of Arizona under Biden.

“I don't kiss men. But I kissed him,” Trump said to laughter from the crowd.

In office, Trump granted his first presidential pardon to Arpaio, who had been convicted of misdemeanor contempt of court in connection with the continued practice of racial profiling by his agency.

That conviction grew out of federal court orders for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office to stop detaining people solely on the basis of their immigration status. Latinos were racially profiled under a department policy that Arpaio refused to end.

Maricopa County voters rejected Arpaio in 2016 and he received the pardon in 2017.

Trump lauds Senate candidate Kari Lake after reports of a rift

Despite keeping the spotlight on himself, Trump did squeeze in some praise for Phoenix, most of the state's Republicans in Congress and Arizona's top 2024 GOP candidates.

“You got to elect Kari Lake,” Trump said early on in his remarks. He called her a “friend of mine” and an “incredible woman.”

That comes after reports that Trump has cooled on Lake, who is the Republican front-runner in the U.S. Senate race.

He specifically praised Republican U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs, Eli Crane, Paul Gosar and Debbie Lesko. He made no mention of the state’s other two GOP House members, U.S. Reps. Juan Ciscomani and David Schweikert.

Trump also praised his endorsed congressional candidate Hamadeh, who is running for the seat being vacated by Lesko, who is retiring and running for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.

Democrats counter Trump is 'unhinged' and 'the worst of Washington'

Ahead of Trump’s town hall event, Arizona Democrats countered his visit with a news conference.

Arizona Democratic Party Chair Yolanda Bejarano cast Trump as “unhinged” and a threat to U.S. democracy.

“We know that Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans see Arizona as a testing ground for election conspiracy theories and denialism,” Bajarano said. “This is ground zero of what has become our entire country’s struggle against misinformation and false claims.”

President Joe Biden’s campaign has reminded voters that Turning Point Action, the conservative organization hosting Trump on Thursday, sent seven buses of students to Washington to participate in the “Stop the Steal” rally that preceded the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Peggy Neely, a former Vice Mayor of Phoenix, introduced herself as a “lifetime Republican” and said Trump caused her to become an independent.

“Every time that Trump comes to the microphone, he lies. And I could not take it anymore,” she said.

After Trump's appearance, Kevin Munoz, a Biden campaign spokesperson, said: "Donald Trump is exactly what Americans hate about politicians. He’s the worst of Washington."

Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He has forcefully decried the felony verdicts against him as politically motivated and has taken a careful position on abortion in the ongoing campaign, declining to back a national ban on the procedure.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 5 takeaways from Donald Trump’s visit to Arizona