Livestream: Trump Stops By Tucson, Prescott On Monday

TUCSON, AZ — President Donald Trump returned to Tucson on Monday to hold a rally just 15 days before the Nov. 3 election.

The Tucson event took place at 3 p.m. at the Tucson International Airport. But before he made his way to southern Arizona, Trump held a noon rally at the Prescott Regional Airport.

The president touched down on Air Force One at Sky Harbor International Airport and was greeted on the tarmac by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey and Sen. Martha McSally, who is in the midst of a tight race against former astronaut Mark Kelly. He then left on Marine One for Prescott where he spoke in front of a mostly maskless crowd.

There, he spoke of his experience with the coronavirus. He says he has since tested negative and told the crowd, “If you have it, you have it, you get better.”

As of Monday, 5,830 Arizonans and over 210,000 Americans have died from the virus.

He also took up for McSally, saying that Kelly "wants to take your guns" due to his work with Giffords, the gun safety group Kelly and his wife, former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, founded after the Tucson shooting that targeted her.

Before heading to Tucson, Trump spoke with press on the Sky Harbor tarmac and said he didn't think his and McSally's races were tied. McSally is currently trailing Kelly in the polls.

"I'm an individual and I think I'm doing very well," he said, according to reporting from the Arizona Republic. "I don't think they are tied together. I was never a big believer in that theory."

An average of recent polls compiled by FiveThirtyEight shows the president losing to his Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, by nearly 4 percentage points. Trump won Arizona by 3.5 percentage points in 2016. Once reliably Republican, Arizona has become a battleground state in 2020.

The Trump campaign has focused much of its efforts on Arizona in recent weeks, with Vice President Mike Pence, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. all making appearances in the state. Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., also stopped in Phoenix on Oct. 8 for several campaign events.

Ahead of the visit, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero published a letter to the president on Twitter, urging him and his campaign staff to follow local coronavirus guidelines, especially the city of Tucson's mask mandate.

"It would be deeply unfortunate if one gathering jeopardized all the progress we have made thus far," she wrote. "That is why I respectfully request that the Trump campaign does everything in its capability to ensure that our local ordinances are respected and followed during your event."

Trump previously tested positive for the coronavirus, though he says he has since tested negative and told supporters Monday that he is now immune. Public health officials have said not enough is known about the virus to determine immunity.

Romero's letter also asked Trump to reimburse the city of Tucson for $80,000 spent on a rally four years ago at the Tucson Convention Center. She noted that public safety response services for Monday's rally will cost the city an estimated $50,000.

"Since this is a campaign event, we respectfully request that you reimburse the city and its taxpayers for these expenses," she wrote.

At his Tucson rally, Trump sought to earn the vote of Arizona's seniors. He told the crowd gathered at the airport that Biden would be a “catastrophe for Arizona seniors” and warned of increased drug prices if the former vice president is elected. Biden has said he will continue building on the Affordable Care Act if he wins the presidency.

He also praised Ducey and McSally for their work over the last few months, calling McSally "a great worker and a great fighter pilot." Trump has been a supporter of the governor due to his handling of the coronavirus pandemic in Arizona; Ducey visited the White House Aug. 5 after the Trump administration offered aid to the state during its peak of the virus.

The president returned back to Washington, D.C shortly after the event ended.

This story will be updated throughout the day. Please check back with Patch for additional details.