Trump to address Turning Point crowd as GOP hopefuls battle in Arizona

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is slated to headline a Turning Point USA event Friday in Phoenix as several Arizona Republicans seek the state’s governorship and two competitive House seats in the upcoming midterm election.

Trump’s remarks to a “Build the Red Wall” event at Dream City Church will connect him with young right-leaning voters, a key voting bloc with which he has lost ground since returning to office last year. A high turnout in November by younger conservatives could boost the GOP’s candidates as part of a broader push to retain control in Congress.

“Young voters, that’s where Trump is hurting the most. Turning Point is the largest consortium of younger voters out there,” said one Republican strategist, granted anonymity to be candid about the president’s slumping poll numbers. “They may not necessarily like what’s going on in Washington, D.C., but, deep down, they still stand by Trump.”

But there are signs of trouble around the economy and foreign entanglements. The “Yale Youth Poll,” conducted by Yale University from March 3-23, showed Trump losing ground with several groups of youthful voters. Sixty-eight percent of voters ages 18-22 said they disapproved of Trump’s performance as president, along with 72% of respondents ages 23-29 and 75% of those ages 30-34, according to the poll.

“Since the fall 2025 Yale Youth Poll, President Trump’s approval has decreased, particularly among young voters,” Yale analysts wrote in a summary of the poll. “In fact, Trump’s net approval has fallen among both men and women of every age bucket under 35 years old.”

Trump will make the case that while he is not literally on the ballot, his agenda is on the ballot, “so you’ve got to get everyone else out to vote,’” the GOP strategist added.

“His message is going be that if Republicans and young conservatives flip the keys back to the other guys, who put the economy in the ditch, everything is going to cost even more,” the strategist said. “Trump will say, ‘I understand you’re impatient, but I’m the one who’s going to be able to make things the closest to what you want.’”

In the Grand Canyon State, young voters will be key. And some GOP candidates likely will be watching to make sure Trump’s most recent round of midterm endorsements stick.

In Arizona’s gubernatorial contest, the president initially endorsed Karrin Taylor Robson in the GOP gubernatorial primary. But after pushback from the party’s MAGA wing, he later backed Rep. Andy Biggs to take on Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in November’s general election.

Trailing in the polls, Robson ended her bid in February, saying the party “could not afford a divisive Republican primary.” GOP Rep. David Schweikert also is seeking the party’s gubernatorial bid.

Polling conducted by Noble Predictive Insights in March showed Biggs benefited more from Robson’s departure, leading Schweikert 40% to 19%. In a December poll featuring all three candidates, Biggs garnered 24% to Hobbs’s 20% and Schweikert’s 14%. The same poll showed Hobbs leading both remaining GOP candidates in hypothetical general election races — though both margins were in the single digits.

Meantime, the contest to succeed Schweikert in the 1st District also attracted two Trump endorsements among the crowded field. He first backed former Arizona GOP chair Gina Swoboda, before also endorsing former NFL kicker Jay Feely amid an outcry from some in the party. Swoboda in February announced she would instead run for secretary of state.

Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani is seeking reelection in Arizona’s 6th District, and received Trump’s endorsement last April.

“As a Member of the POWERFUL Appropriations Committee, Juan is fighting hard to Secure the Border, Stop Migrant Crime, Strengthen our Military/Vets, Support our Great Law Enforcement, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment,” the president wrote his Truth Social platform in April 2025.

Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales lists those Arizona House races as toss-ups.

White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a Thursday email that Trump’s message in Phoenix would largely focus on economic matters, including the Republicans’ 2025 budget reconciliation law.

“President Trump has always been clear about temporary disruptions as a result of Operation Epic Fury, but tens of millions of Americans benefiting this tax season from the president’s signature provisions in the working families tax cuts/no tax on tips, overtime or Social Security (law) reflect how the administration hasn’t lost focus on delivering on our affordability agenda at home,” Desai said.

“President Trump will be highlighting these and other accomplishments in Nevada and Arizona this week, and the administration continues implement a proven economic agenda of tax cuts, deregulation, and energy abundance to give the American people even further relief,” Desai said.

Trump also is slated to participate in a roundtable Thursday in Las Vegas focused on Republicans’ no tax on tips push, which the president has said should help the party in November’s elections.

Vance’s night

Trump’s Phoenix remarks will come three days after a rocky appearance by Vice President JD Vance at a Turning Point USA event Tuesday night in Athens, Ga.

Erika Kirk, the widowed wife of Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk who was fatally shot during an event at a Utah college, canceled her planned appearance alongside Vance. “Well, first of all, I love Erika, and I know that she did get some threats,” the Vance said at the event, adding he decided to attend after conferring with the Secret Service.

Vance was heckled about 10 minutes into the event at the University of Georgia. One person yelled, “Jesus Christ does not support genocide!” Another shouted, as they mentioned Israel’s brutal war in Gaza, which the Biden and Trump administrations have mostly backed, “You’re killing children! You’re bombing children!”

Vance said he did “recognize that young voters do not love the policy we have in the Middle East, OK,” adding: “I understand.”

The vice president, who is Catholic, also used the Athens event to join Trump’s feud with Pope Leo XIV, who has criticized the administration’s war in Iran. “In the same way that it’s important for the vice president of the United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy, I think it’s very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology,” Vance said.

A White House official on Wednesday said in an email that the president’s Friday plans had not changed despite Vance’s Turning Point turbulence.

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