Inflation, immigration, abortion: Presidential rivals spar over top Arizona issues

A much-anticipated debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump underscored the stakes of the presidential race for Arizona, one of the few states that is up for grabs by both parties in the Nov. 5 election.

The testy, 90-minute-long debate spanned issues that are top of mind for Arizona voters. Here’s what the candidates said.

Trump, Biden spar on the economy

The debate kicked off with a question about the economy, an issue that Arizonans on both sides of the aisle say is a top concern.

Many Arizonans were hard hit by inflation that beset the country in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2022, the Phoenix area topped the nation with a 12-month inflation rate of 13%.

Now it’s among the lowest. Inflation increased just 2.6% in the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area over the 12 months through April 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s the lowest reading of any of the big cities tracked by the agency.

Biden took credit for the country’s economic rebound onstage.

"The economy collapsed. We had no jobs. Unemployment rate rose to 15%. It was terrible. And so what we had to do was try to put things back together again," Biden said.

Trump countered that the worst period of inflation took place during Biden’s time in office. He linked it to the president’s COVID-19-era economic stimulus spending. Polling suggests that many voters fondly recall Trump's economic record.

Inflation "blew up under his leadership, because they spent money like a bunch of people that didn't know what they were doing," Trump said.

Most economists believe that the stimulus spending Biden oversaw contributed to inflation, though they disagree about how much. Biden’s administration has maintained the spending helped avert a widely forecast recession.

Trump reprised his attack on Biden when moderators asked about the racial wealth gap between Black and white Americans.

“He caused the inflation. And it’s killing Black families and Hispanic families,” Trump said.

A moderator asked Biden what his message is to Black voters who are disappointed with his economic progress.

"I don't blame them for being disappointed. Inflation is still hurting them badly," Biden said, pointing to his proposed $10,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers.

Immigration and border security

As anticipated, Trump quickly began attacking Biden on immigration, questioning why he has allowed millions of migrants into the country, even when discussing other topics.

Trump erroneously claimed many of these individuals were coming from prisons and mental institutions in other countries, and attempting to enroll for federal benefits like Social Security or Medicare. There is no data that supports either of those assertions.

“We have a border that is the most dangerous place anywhere in the world,” Trump said. However, government statistics show border communities like Nogales and San Luis are among the safest areas of the state because of the additional presence of federal and state law enforcement agencies.

"The idea that they're emptying their prisons ... that we're welcoming these people," Biden countered. "That's simply not true. There is no data to support what he said. Once again, he's exaggerating. He's lying."

Questioned on the record number of border crossings and the security and housing challenges at destination cities like Chicago and New York, Biden argued he has increased resources and supported a Senate-brokered immigration deal that garnered bipartisan support before Trump came out against it.

"We worked very hard to get a bipartisan agreement," Biden said.

He credited his executive action for a 40 percent decrease in migrant crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border, though many analysts say Mexico’s immigration crackdown has played a greater role in reducing migrant flows.

Trump claimed that under his presidency the country had one of the safest borders and cited some of his policies such as the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which Biden repealed when he took office.

The number of migrants reaching the U.S.-Mexico border decreased significantly under the Trump administration because of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent restrictions on migrant crossings under Title 42. However, the numbers began to increase steadily once lockdown restrictions eased, reaching record levels in 2022 and 2023.

Since last year, migrant flows have shifted to Arizona. The Border Patrol's Tucson Sector, which covers the eastern two-thirds of the Arizona border, remains the busiest crossing route along the border.

When asked about whether he would follow through with mass deportations, Trump declined to answer directly.

Instead, he shifted his remarks to crimes committed by migrants, referring to destination cities for migrants as “rats nests.”

“We have to get a lot of people out,” Trump said.

Abortion rights

Abortion rights loomed over the presidential debate with Arizona as a swing state directly affected by the changing legislative landscape.

When the subject turned to abortion rights, Biden vowed to return America to the standards outlined in the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case.

As he has consistently done on the campaign trail, Biden blamed Trump for the evolving rules on abortion rights.

"The idea … that the founders wanted the politicians to be the ones making decisions about women's health is ridiculous," Biden said.

Trump said Biden and Democrats are willing to rip babies out of the womb in the final days of pregnancy. Abortions after 21 weeks of pregnancy make up less than 1% of all abortions, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Trump said the overturning of Roe v. Wade was "something that everybody wanted" and "right now, the states control it. That's the vote of the people."

A proposed Arizona initiative would enshrine the right to abortion in the state’s constitution. That measure is expected to appear on the Nov. 5 ballot.

That has been a worrisome prospect for Arizona Republicans. Voters in six states — California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Vermont — have already gone to the polls and voted in favor of abortion rights in their states.

Biden-Trump debate: Arizona watchers post frustration

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Presidential rivals spar over top Arizona issues