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President Donald Trump Returns To Anti-Immigration Tactics At Mesa Rally

Trump at the podium at the Mesa rally — Oct. 19, 2018.
Jimmy Jenkins/KJZZ
President Donald Trump at the podium for the Mesa rally on Oct. 19, 2018.

President Donald Trump held a rally in Mesa on Friday night after a day of fundraising and touring Luke Air Force Base.

Rallying thousands of supporters in an Arizona aircraft hangar for GOP Senate candidate Rep. Martha McSally, Trump warned of dire consequences if her opponent, Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, is victorious.

Trump, trying to hold onto Republicans' narrow 51-49 advantage in the Senate, said a vote for Sinema "is dangerous" because it would empower Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

He also returned to many of his anti-immigration tactics from the 2016 campaign.

Despite saying his campaign was doing well with Hispanic-Americans, Trump spent a good portion of the rally drumming up fears about immigration from Latin America.

Alluding several times to an alleged impending migrant crisis that threatened to overtake the southern border, the president warned that his opponents were pushing a radical immigration agenda that would bankrupt the country:

“Democrats want to give illegal aliens free welfare, free health care, and free education," said Trump.

Trump urged the capacity crowd to vote, warning that his accomplishments could be undone if Democrats take the House of Representatives.

Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Trump In Mesa - Oct. 19, 2018

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Jimmy Jenkins was a producer and senior field correspondent at KJZZ from 2014 to 2021.