President Donald Trump spent Wednesday campaigning in Arizona and Montana as Republicans pulled back from some battleground House races and Democrats sought money for candidates who had looked like long shots earlier in the year. The twin rallies came in the closing weeks of the midterm cycle, showing how heavily the party is relying on the president’s drawing power to hold its ground.
The Campaign Stops
Trump’s first rally was in Bullhead City, in Mohave County, one of the reddest corners of a swing state. He campaigned there for Rep. Andy Biggs, who's running for governor against incumbent Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. Arizona also has several competitive House contests on the ballot.
Trump then flew to Kalispell, Montana, to back Republican congressional candidate Aaron Flint in the state’s 1st District. Flint is in a close race against Democrat Sam Forstag. In the Senate contest, Trump-endorsed GOP nominee Kurt Alme faces a Democratic Party split over whether to support its nominee, Alani Bankhead, or back independent candidate Seth Bodnar.
The stops followed Trump’s Tuesday visit to Alaska, where he campaigned for incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan, who's locked in a tight race with Democrat Mary Peltola. His recent travels have also taken him to Ohio, Texas and Nebraska.
The crowds came out. Kalispell’s rally took place at Majestic Valley Arena, a venue normally used for rodeos with a listed capacity of 7,000. It filled, and security began turning people away. Attendees, including NBC News reporters, sat in traffic for hours to reach the parking lot. Trump had never visited Montana’s Flathead Valley as president. Gerald Ford, in 1975, was the last sitting president to visit the region—51 years ago.
Gifts, Guns and the Second Amendment
In Arizona, Trump spent considerable time talking about the 747 Qatar’s government gave him for use as Air Force One. “And you saw the brand new 747 Air Force One. It was about time,” he said. “You know, when you're given gifts, you take them, right?” He added: “When they give you a 747, you say two words: thank you.” Trump said Qatar gave him the plane because he was their “friend,” and called the previous Air Force One outdated. The aircraft had drawn concerns about its security capabilities compared with the previous plane, and Trump said over the summer that he would send it away for upgrades.
In Montana, Trump made gun rights a central theme. “If the Democrat communists win, they will pack the Supreme Court with radical Marxists. Take away your guns,” he said. “How would you like to live up here without guns?” He told the crowd the Second Amendment “is under siege,” but Republicans in Washington would “totally protect” it. “Nobody has fought for the Second Amendment amendment like me,” he said.
Security and Law Enforcement
Trump told the Arizona crowd that “leakers should be shot,” referring to people who disclose the timing of a military attack. “The leakers should be dealt with very, very strongly,” he said. He also warned about Iran. “We had to make sure that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon, because you know they are considered for many years the No. 1 state sponsor of terror,” he said. “And if they had a nuclear weapon, within 24 hours they would use it.” Earlier this month, Trump said Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego. A few days later, he said, “We protect our cities.”
He also attacked Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., whose Washington, D.C., home federal agents searched Monday. Agents seized her phone, and investigators sent roughly a dozen subpoenas in a probe into potential immigration-related crimes, according to people familiar with the investigation. Trump called Somalia, where Omar was born, a “ninth-rate” country and accused her on Truth Social of financial and immigration fraud. Omar called the search “an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement” and said Trump has targeted her with “baseless lies and smear campaigns” for ten years.
Election Claims and Tributes
Trump again claimed Arizona’s 2022 election was “rigged” and said, without evidence, that Republican Kari Lake had beaten Hobbs. Election officials said at the time that some Maricopa County machines temporarily malfunctioned by rejecting ballots, rather than misreading them, and that officials fixed the problem on Election Day afternoon. He also repeated his false claim that the 2020 presidential election was rigged.
The rally had lighter moments. Trump brought boxer Floyd Mayweather onstage. “America is the best country in the world,” Mayweather said. Trump remembered conservative activist Charlie Kirk on what would have been Kirk’s 33rd birthday, telling Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, “We love you,” and urging supporters to vote “in Charlie’s honor.” Kirk moved Turning Point U.S.A.’s headquarters to Arizona in 2018, eight years ago.
Ukraine Ceasefire Strains
Abroad, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure defied Trump’s ceasefire demand. He said Russian forces hit the power grid and oil and gas facilities for a third straight night. Trump had claimed Russia and Ukraine agreed to avoid such strikes, 4 ½ years after Moscow’s forces invaded. Zelenskyy agreed to halt Ukraine’s monthslong campaign against Russian oil refineries, and Ukraine’s last reported refinery strike was the previous Friday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said officials were still deciding the details of the energy ceasefire. Trump’s efforts to stop the fighting had made no progress.
Why This Matters:
With Republicans retreating from some House battlegrounds, Trump’s rally schedule is doing heavy lifting for the party. Whether crowds like the overflow in Kalispell translate into votes in Arizona, Montana and Alaska will help decide who controls Congress—and the fate of tax, spending and regulatory priorities. Montana’s split Democratic field and tight races in Alaska and Arizona show how thin the margins are. Abroad, the stalled Ukraine ceasefire is a reminder that announced deals don't always hold. Voters who prize security, clear rules and results will weigh what’s been delivered against what’s been promised.
- donald trump
- arizona
- montana
- andy biggs
- katie hobbs
- aaron flint
- floyd mayweather
- midterm elections