President Donald Trump brought a hard-edged message to Arizona, using a rally in Bullhead City to hammer Democrats, back Rep. Andy Biggs, and push Republicans to lock down the ballot from top to bottom. The event mixed campaign fire, sharp personal attacks, and a heavy dose of election-year urgency as Trump tried to energize voters with less than three weeks left before Election Day.
Trump told the crowd Democrats would “destroy our country,” tying that warning to his broader message that the GOP needed to take control across the board. He also leaned into familiar themes of patriotism, arguing that America belongs to people who love it, not those who look down on it. In his view, the election was bigger than one race, and Arizona was one of the places where that fight would be settled.
Biggs joined Trump onstage and got a loud boost from the former president, who praised the Arizona Republican as he runs for governor against Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. Biggs used his turn to argue that Democrats showed disrespect during Trump’s State of the Union address earlier in the year, when the president honored veterans and other guests. He urged voters to back Republicans across the ticket, telling the crowd to “Vote Republican top to bottom” and “Let’s turn Arizona red.”
Trump kept returning to that State of the Union moment, especially the reaction from lawmakers when he recognized veterans. He said Democrats sat silently and refused to stand, then added, “Not one Democrat smiled or clapped,” before snapping, “But that’s what we have,” and, “They’ll destroy our country.”
The speech also reopened the debate over the government’s duty to Americans versus illegal immigrants, a line Trump has used again and again on the trail. He framed the moment as a test of basic priorities, saying Republicans stood while many Democrats remained seated. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania has said he stood to recognize honored guests, including veterans, a reminder that even inside Washington, the reaction to these moments can split along different lines.
Trump did not hold back on Hobbs, either, calling her a “low IQ individual” and casting her as part of the problem facing the state. He also praised Biggs’ running mate, former state Sen. Sine Kerr, who is seeking to become Arizona’s first lieutenant governor. Biggs picked Kerr in July for the newly created office, and Trump treated that ticket as another reason for Republican supporters to stay locked in.
The rally went well beyond the governor’s race. Trump pushed support for Republican secretary of state candidate Alex Kolodin, describing him as “a warrior for election integrity” while going after Democratic incumbent Adrian Fontes. He also gave shoutouts to GOP Reps. Paul Gosar, Abe Hamadeh, and Eli Crane, calling Hamadeh and Crane “warriors” and urging support for congressional candidate Mark Lamb in Arizona’s 5th District.
There was also a clear memorial tone woven into the event. Trump honored the late Charlie Kirk on what he said would have been the activist’s 33rd birthday, calling him “A great person, a great man, a great friend of mine” as the crowd broke into “Charlie! Charlie!” chants. He told supporters that Kirk’s widow, Erika, and their family were on his mind, then turned the tribute into a turnout message with, “In Charlie’s honor, we want you to go out and vote,” followed by, “He’d be out there fighting like nobody else. So, let’s have a big victory in honor of Charlie Kirk.”
