PHOENIX — PHOENIX (AP) — Donald Trump returns to the campaign trail Thursday with a trip to Arizona, his first appearance in a battleground state since he was convicted in a hush money scandal.
Trump is scheduled to speak at a town hall in Phoenix organized by Turning Point, a conservative youth organization that has seen its influence rise alongside Trump’s takeover of the GOP.
Trump responded defiantly to the verdict against him a day after a New York jury found him guilty last week of a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor. But he has not spoken directly to the swing-state voters who will decide the November election.
He is likely to find a friendly audience at Turning Point. Led by Charlie Kirk, the group has harnessed the energy of young people drawn to Trump’s Make America Great Again movement by cultivating conservative influencers and hosting glitzy events. And it’s made Kirk and his allies wealthy.
Nowhere is Turning Point’s influence greater than in Arizona, the group’s adopted home state where its loyalists have taken on prominent roles in the state GOP but have struggled to win general elections. Turning Point’s slate of conservative candidates lost in the 2022 midterms, including Kari Lake, who lost the race for governor and is now running for U.S. Senate.
The group is looking to expand its influence this year to other battleground states and got a boost when Trump ousted former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel in February. She was replaced by Trump’s hand-picked successor, his daughter-in-law Lara Trump, who has spoken positively about working with Turning Point.
President Joe Biden won Arizona in 2020 by about 10,000 votes. It was, along with Georgia, one of two states decided by less than half a percentage point and is expected to be close again this year.
Arizona Republicans have enthusiastically embraced Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him. State lawmakers commissioned an unprecedented partisan recount that confirmed his loss. Cochise County officials in southern Arizona are facing criminal charges for refusing to certify the 2022 midterm election results.
Hours before Trump is scheduled to speak, Jake Hoffman, a Republican state senator who is also a top Turning Point consultant, will be arraigned for his role in an alleged plot to overturn Trump’s loss in Arizona. Hoffman is accused of being a fake elector who signed a document falsely claiming to represent Arizona in the Electoral College.
Trump’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, is scheduled for arraignment in the same case on Friday.
Despite the state’s importance on the presidential map, Trump has not campaigned in Arizona since 2022, when he held a rally to support his slate of midterm candidates, all of whom ended up losing.
Trump’s trip west includes several private fundraisers and a rally on Sunday in Nevada, another battleground state he lost narrowly in 2020.
President Trump is set to hold a campaign event in Arizona, despite facing legal troubles stemming from his involvement in hush money payments. The event, scheduled for next week, comes just days after the former president was convicted on charges related to his role in the payments made to silence women who alleged affairs with him.
The hush money payments have been a point of contention for Trump since his time in office, with critics arguing that they were a clear violation of campaign finance laws. The recent conviction only adds to the mounting legal challenges facing the former president, who has maintained his innocence throughout the investigation.
Despite the legal cloud hanging over him, Trump remains a popular figure among his supporters, particularly in states like Arizona where his brand of conservative politics has resonated with many voters. The upcoming campaign event is expected to draw a large crowd of loyal followers eager to hear from their embattled leader.
However, the event is likely to be met with protests from those who believe that Trump should be held accountable for his actions. The conviction on the hush money payments is just the latest in a long line of legal troubles for the former president, who has faced numerous lawsuits and investigations since leaving office.
As Trump continues to navigate the legal challenges facing him, his political future remains uncertain. While he remains a powerful force within the Republican Party, his legal troubles could potentially derail any plans he may have for a political comeback. The upcoming campaign event in Arizona will undoubtedly be closely watched by both supporters and critics alike as they wait to see what the future holds for the controversial former president.
