Wall Street Journal
By Rebecca Ballhaus, Ed Mann and Ian Lovett
August 22, 2017
PHOENIX—Protesters and supporters of President Donald Trump squared off Tuesday evening here, ahead of the president’s first political rally since he refused to immediately condemn the violence at a white supremacist protest, touching off sharp criticism among members of both parties.
Mr. Trump was scheduled to speak at a rally in Phoenix following a tour of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility and equipment in Yuma, Ariz., where he patted the side of a drone in a visit meant to call attention to his immigration policy.
Later in the afternoon, critics of the president denounced him as supporters queued to enter his rally in downtown Phoenix, where a heavy police presence reflected local officials’ concern about the chance of violence. Supporters of the president chanted “Build that wall” in the direction of a Trump critic waving an American flag, who shook his finger and repeatedly responded, “With your tax money.”
The event marked Mr. Trump’s first unscripted appearance since a combative news conference last week where he said both sides were to blame for a violent confrontation in Charlottesville, Va., between white nationalists and counterprotesters. On Monday, the president delivered a more somber address in which he unequivocally denounced bigotry and racism and urged unity.
Mr. Trump in recent days has sought to regain control of the White House narrative after his news-conference performance.
An NBC News/Marist survey conducted Aug. 13-17—following the confrontation in Charlottesville—found the president’s approval rating below 40% in three of the key states that helped him win the election in November. Some 36% approved of his job performance in Michigan, 35% in Pennsylvania and 34% in Wisconsin, the survey found.
On Tuesday, the White House sought to highlight the administration’s enforcement efforts, touting statistics showing that apprehensions on the southwest border have plunged—a sign, the administration said, that Mr. Trump’s tough talk on immigration has discouraged Central Americans from trying to enter the country.
Vice President Mike Pence and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson introduced Mr. Trump.
Mr. Carson alluded to the passions inflamed at Charlottesville, saying that political forces were seeking to divide the country based on race and class.
“We are much too smart to fall for that garbage,” Mr. Carson said. “Every time this nation has encountered the forces of hatred and bigotry from within or without, America has always left those cancerous ideologies in the rearview window.”
The rally had been expected to draw thousands of protesters. Phoenix’s mayor, Democrat Greg Stanton, had urged the president to postpone the event. The mayor consulted with local police about how “to keep everyone safe,” a spokesman said.
Asked whether the president had any hesitation about attending the rally, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Tuesday: “The more that the president has the ability to talk directly to the American people, that’s always a good thing.”
At the convention center, the crowd was orderly early on, though emotions were high on both sides of the barricade.
The protesters shouted at Trump supporters as they went by, holding up signs with slogans like “Stand up against Hate” and “Toxic Trump.”
Maddy Anseth, an 18-year-old college student, came with her mother to protest the president. “We have to stand up against hatred,” she said. “A lot of them want the wall so they don’t have to be surrounded by people different from them. They villainize people who are different.”
Meanwhile, Trump supporters had lined up hours before the doors were scheduled to open. As she waited to get into the arena, Helen Barreras, 64, shouted “Trump is fighting for you too!” to the protesters.
“I’m here to support the president,” she said. “They say he lies. They say he’s racist. He’s none of those things. He didn’t have to run for president. He did it because he loves our country. I think he’s doing an excellent job.”
By early evening, thousands of protesters had gathered across the street from the convention center, though the crowd was far smaller than the one inside the arena. The protesters remained peaceful, with the police blocking anyone from crossing the street.
The John Brown Gun Club, a leftist group, was there, wearing fatigues and openly carried firearms. About 15 protesters from Anti-Fascist Action, a loose agglomeration of groups that seek to confront racists and fascists, carried flags, wore all black and covered their faces.
One man, who declined to give his name, said the group was made up of local leftists, and they were all unarmed. “A lot of us have been pushed to the point where we feel willing to defend ourselves,” he said.
Mr. Trump arrives in town as he is feuding with Jeff Flake, Arizona’s junior senator who has been critical of the president’s trade and border-wall plans and decried his Charlottesville remarks. Mr. Trump in turn has called Mr. Flake, one of the Republican Party’s most vulnerable incumbents in 2018, “toxic” and “weak on borders.”
In a tweet last week, Mr. Trump praised one of Mr. Flake’s primary challengers, Kelli Ward. “Great to see that Dr. Kelli Ward is running against Flake Jeff Flake,” he wrote.
Mr. Trump isn’t expected to make an endorsement in the race Tuesday evening, according to a person familiar with the plan, though that person warned that the president is known to go off-script at his campaign rallies.
Mr. Pence was introduced by Jeff DeWit, the state treasurer who is among those weighing a primary challenge to Mr. Flake.
“The president went down to Yuma today to see what we can do about building that wall,” Mr. DeWitt said, spurring chants of “build the wall.”
Ms. Ward was out in the crowd on the floor of the arena, according to a member of her campaign. Mr. Flake didn’t attend the rally, according to local news media.
Write to Rebecca Ballhaus at Rebecca.Ballhaus@wsj.com, Ted Mann at ted.mann@wsj.com and Ian Lovett at Ian.Lovett@wsj.com
Appeared in the August 23, 2017, print edition as ‘For Trump, Rally to Recharge Base.’
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