'The road to victory runs right through Arizona!' Pence visit caps week of focus from Trump campaign
A marathon week of visits from the Trump campaign culminated Friday with a day of activities by Vice President Mike Pence in Arizona, focusing on Latino voters and veterans.
He defended the Trump administration's record on Latino and veteran's issues, and praised President Donald Trump's commitment to military members and veterans despite the president's record of denigrating some service members and their families.
The vice president's day of events comes after his wife, second lady Karen Pence, visited Luke Air Force Base in Glendale on Thursday to discuss professional licensing for military spouses.
People who attended the events shared how they believed in the administration and its work, while Democrats struck out against the administration for comments against veterans.
Pence landed in Phoenix at Sky Harbor International Airport at 10:51 a.m. He first went to Grand Canyon University for an event with The LIBRE Initiative, and then to the Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park for a Veterans for Trump event.
After the events, Air Force Two made a surprise visit to Yuma for a family reunion of sorts.
The Pences and their two daughters landed in Yuma, where they were greeted by military officials and Michael Pence, the vice president’s son, an active duty Marine who is stationed in Yuma.
Pence hugged his son, who then hugged the rest of the family. All were wearing masks.
Dr. Deborah Birx also traveled on Air Force Two for a meeting with President Robert C. Robbins and other university officials at the University of Arizona. She's toured the campus and heard about successes and challenges the campus is having in the era of COVID-19.
The increased presence by the Trump campaign and virtual visits by the Biden campaign show how Arizona is in play for the presidential race as it continues to grow more purple.
Trump's campaign has aimed its recent visits at specific groups where support lags, including Latinos, veterans and women.
Former Vice President Joe Biden has yet to visit Arizona in person since he became the Democratic nominee, though his campaign has held virtual events with Arizonans. His wife, Jill Biden, will hold a virtual phone bank event with Arizonans on Saturday.
Roundtable focuses on Latinos
Pence attended a roundtable with the LIBRE Initiative, a group financially backed by megadonor Charles Koch that focuses on free market policies geared toward Latinos.
With about 200 people on hand, masked and distanced at Grand Canyon University, Pence said Hispanic Americans enjoyed record growth on jobs, income and home ownership under the Trump administration prior to the pandemic.
Pence touted the construction of the border wall in Arizona and pledged to back school choice.
“In fact here in Arizona, the governor informs us that about 40% of charter school students are Hispanic,” Pence said. He pledged to expand those educational opportunities if elected to a second term.
He said Hispanic people have always “made this country great” and will continue to for years to come.
“God bless our Hispanic Americans," Pence said.
Cesar Ariel Zamora, the dad of a student who participates in a school choice program, shared a story about his son, who participates in the state's Empowerment Scholarship Account program, which lets parents use public funds to attend private and religious schools.
Because of the program, he said, he could be raising the next president of the United States, "And I don't even know it!" The comment drew applause and laughter from the crowd.
An area just outside the campus, designated a “free speech zone" where protesters typically gather, was empty as a caravan traveling with Pence made its way to the campus.
Democrats and Biden surrogates have called attention to Trump's words and actions toward Latinos and immigration this week as well, saying the president is now attempting to drum up support after years of disparagement.
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, a co-chair of the Biden campaign's Arizona Latino Leaders Council, said last week that she sees the Trump campaign's efforts to engage Latino voters as hypocritical.
"The effects of his words should carry strong with Latinos, especially here in Arizona. I think it is maximum hypocrisy of Trump doing outreach to Latinos here in Arizona," said Romero, a Democrat.
But for those who attended the roundtable, Pence's messages resonated.
Mesa resident Phoebe Cruz said she was on hand to support the Trump-Pence administration because it is sensitive to her concerns about issues of faith.
“Faith is the 100% most important thing for me,” she said. That means she opposes abortion rights and supports religious freedom and school choice.
Cruz said she was impressed by Pence’s reaction to the panelists, especially when it came to school choice.
“The vice president said he was honored to be in their presence,” Cruz said. “It was very humbling.”
Trump campaign's presence in Arizona
On Monday, Trump himself visited Phoenix for a Latinos for Trump event, a brief stop for his fifth journey to Arizona this year.
Ivanka Trump joined a phone bank in Phoenix on Wednesday, then joined Gov. Doug Ducey for a roundtable about working families.
Karen Pence spent Thursday in the Phoenix area, staying overnight. In addition to the events on Thursday, she is scheduled to participate in a discussion on Friday about veteran suicide prevention.
Next week, Donald Trump Jr. will headline a "Students for Trump" rally in Chandler, which will feature Charlie Kirk, founder and president of the conservative, student-geared organization Turning Point USA.
Visits this week sought to grow support among Latinos, who historically have voted for Democrats at much higher percentages than Republicans, and many of whom see Trump's rhetoric and actions as anti-immigrant and anti-Latino.
The veterans event seeks to drum up support among the military community as the president has taken heat for comments disparaging veterans, according to reporting by The Atlantic.
Democrats assail Trump's comments on military
Ahead of Pence’s planned visit at a Veterans for Trump event, the Arizona Democratic Party organized a call with two Arizona veterans who said Trump’s comments on military members and veterans have been disgraceful.
A recent article in The Atlantic, which cited unnamed sources, reported that Trump has disparaged service members, saying those who were killed or wounded in action were “losers” and “suckers.”
Trump’s previous comments about military veterans, particularly the late U.S. Sen. John McCain, hit home for Arizonans. In 2015, Trump said McCain was not a war hero.
“He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured,” Trump said at the time.
McCain, who was Navy aviator, was shot down in 1967 and held as a prisoner of war for more than five years in Vietnam. Trump did not serve in the military.
Former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley, a lifelong Republican and Marine Corps veteran, said he will vote for Biden over Trump. He is angered by Trump's attacks on McCain’s service and other veterans. Romley was wounded in 1969, and said he believes Trump isn’t fit to lead.
“That's not a commander in chief,” Romley said. “I ask every veteran and everybody serving in the military today to ask themselves: Is that the person you want in the foxhole next to you? To have your back? Absolutely not."
Romley shared how he lost friends to the war, and how he returned home to a country in turmoil, where service members were disrespected. He didn’t want to see that disrespect become the norm again, he said. He would never vote for someone who doesn’t show empathy and understanding to military members and veterans, regardless of their party affiliation, he said.
And that includes Trump.
“He does not respect those who are serving or have served,” Romley said.
Signa Oliver, a Goodyear resident who served in the Arizona National Guard and in the U.S. Army, said the Trump campaign is attempting to do “damage control” by focusing on veterans.
“For you to be disrespectful to those that have served by calling them losers and suckers, and you don't understand why we would do that because what's in it for us. … What's in it for us is the ideal of this nation that we have raised our hand and took the oath to support,” Oliver said.
Oliver, who said she had worked for the McCain family and voted for McCain in the past, supports Biden and said he has shown understanding of veterans’ issues and consideration of military members.
“I have all the confidence that they will be better for the nation, and in being better for the nation, be better for all servicemembers, including veterans that have served,” she said.
Pence rallies Veterans for Trump
Later Friday, Pence participated in an event with Veterans for Trump, one of several coalition groups the Trump campaign has started, to show the administration's support for the military.
An estimated 600,000 veterans live in Arizona and are a crucial voting bloc.
Supporters of Trump and Pence filed into a ballroom after they were backed up for at least one mile on Wigwam Boulevard, jockeying for a parking spot at the West Valley resort.
Gov. Doug Ducey joined Pence at both Friday events, and U.S. Sen. Martha McSally joined Pence at the Veterans for Trump event.
McSally, a former combat Air Force combat pilot, thanked veterans for their service. She said electing Biden would mean a return to Obama-era military policies.
“And now, I deployed to Washington, D.C.,” she said to laughs. “I’m what’s standing in the way to make sure (Democratic Senate leader) Chuck Schumer’s not in charge.”
Pence nodded to the importance of the state in the election.
"I'm telling you what. The Pence family loves Arizona!" he said, adding with a shout, "The road to victory runs right through Arizona!"
Pence went after the Obama administration for problems at VA hospitals that left some veterans without proper care. He defended the Trump administration's record on veterans and military issues and the president's thoughts on service members in general.
Pence said that since Trump took office, military members saw the largest pay raise in 10 years, more funding across the board and the addition of a new branch, the U.S. Space Force.
"When the cameras are off, I’ve seen his heart for our troops," Pence said, adding that he promises the administration will search for prisoners of war. “They will never be forgotten. We will never stop looking. We will never stop searching until all of America’s fallen heroes are accounted for."
Reporters Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and José-Ignacio Castañeda Perez contributed to this story.
Reach reporter Rachel Leingang by email at rachel.leingang@gannett.com or by phone at 602-444-8157, or find her on Twitter and Facebook.
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