SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A wave of people wearing “Make America Great Again” hats and shirts lined up outside a weapons and munitions manufacturing plant to hear Senator JD VanceThe final speech before Election Day on Tuesday.

“In just three days, we are going to return the White House to the American people,” Vance told a few thousand people Saturday afternoon in Scottsdale, at the Dillon Precision. “We’re in a very, very good situation in Arizona, but I don’t want us to be lazy.”

During his 20-minute speech, Vance said former President Donald Trump would fix what Vice President Harris broke.

Vance was joined by Donald Trump Jr., Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, Senate candidate Kari Lake, Arizona state Senate candidate Carine Werner, state Rep. Arizona Steve Montenegro and Arizona GOP Chair Gina Swoboda, all of whom helped advocate for voters. to support Vance and Trump. Vance’s wife, Usha, also accompanied him to the event, but she made no remarks.

JD Vance: There’s ‘a lot more joy on our side’

Addressing immigration, Vance spoke about the overwhelming number of migrants who have arrived through Arizona in recent years, blaming the Biden-Harris administration’s policies for perpetuating the crisis at the southern border. He also criticized the current administration for failing to deal with Mexican cartels that traffic deadly drugs into the United States.

“Here is my firm promise: When Donald J. Trump is president of the United States, we will go to war against the Mexican drug cartels, wipe this poison… out of our country and come to our senses,” Vance said. He then promised a “golden age of peace and prosperity” and “making the American dream more affordable.”

The Republican vice presidential candidate criticized Harris for dodging unscheduled media interviews and for her responses to questions in interviews she gave.

“(The media will say), ‘Well, Kamala Harris’ campaign is the campaign of joy,'” Vance said. “I think we have a lot more joy on our side right now.”

He called on people to join his “big tent party”, adding: “You are welcome in this big tent, as long as you believe in common sense, but we have to stop electing politicians who treat half the country as trash, who call half the country Nazis, who call half the country fascists.

Trump Jr. talks about his trip to McDonald’s, Charlie Kirk talks numbers

Donald Trump Jr. presented Vance with an anecdote about a recent father-son fishing trip he took with his children, ages 10 and 14, that included a visit to McDonald’s. “Let’s be clear, when Donald Trump Jr. has sticker shock at McDonald’s, it’s a serious problem.”

He admitted that he was “reasonably spoiled”, being the “son of a Manhattan billionaire”. But, he added, “When I grew up, I didn’t realize that McDonald’s was a luxury product,” before blaming President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Kirk repeated a number so Arizona fans would know. “There are 400,000 Republican ballots here in Maricopa County that have not yet been returned,” Kirk said. “We need to find those ballots and put them into the system. » In addition to being one of the few swing counties, Maricopa County is also one of the largest counties in the United States in terms of population.

Kirk, whose organization runs election campaigns in Arizona, said he remembers the “sickness in his stomach” when Trump lost the Grand Canyon State in 2020.

“We are literally next to the constituencies that voted for Joe Biden. We are next to the constituencies that voted for Mark Kelly. And it’s not because they won,” he said, urging voters to exercise their right to vote and take their friends and neighbors with them to the polls.

The Turning Point founder also took aim at Arizona State Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, for saying she would investigate Trump over his comments about former Rep. Liz Cheney during from an event in Phoenix earlier this week with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson.

Trump called Cheney a “radical war hawk” and said his feelings about the war would change if “guns were pointed in his face.” Harris and Cheney criticized Trump for his comments, and Mayes said she would investigate the presidential candidate.

“I have already directed my criminal division chief to begin reviewing this statement and analyzing it to determine whether it constitutes a death threat under Arizona law,” Mayes, a Democrat, said. in a press release. television appearance. Kirk responded by saying, “Instead of our attorney general dealing with the cartels that are killing our children, she’s trying to investigate Donald Trump’s speech.” »

At one point, Kirk, who grew up in Chicago, said the one thing he likes about Arizona is that there are “very few native Arizonans, unless you’re a ( Latter-day Saint),” adding jokingly, “They’re usually the fifth generation, right? He said that was at least true in the Turning Point offices.

How attractive is Arizona to foreigners? “This state is what California was in the 1950s,” he said, adding that the state had a glimmer of opportunity, hope and a taste of the “American spirit.” .

Lake, during his spirited remarks, gave the audience a taste of the Republican plan to reform “fake news.” The Senate candidate threatened licenses issued to broadcast media networks by the Federal Communications Commission. “We are going to take a long, hard look at the FCC licenses these people have. We give them these licenses and they lie to us,” she said.

Tired but resilient voters

At one point, Lake asked how many people had already voted, and a majority of hands went up. She advised those voting in person next week not to get out of line until they have voted.

“I know we are all tired of commercials. We are tired of the heaviness of this political season, but in three days we save our country, we take our country back,” she said.

Although they have already voted, many voters say they are trying to conserve their energy during these final days of voting. Barri Marion and Sam Odle waited in line to collect the signage after the event. They once saw former President Donald Trump at a rally. “He’s here in Arizona non-stop,” Odle said.

Marion said she supports Vance’s arguments for closing the border and ending human trafficking. Democrats are running “four-to-one ads against us.” The money they raised compared to that of the Republicans is a whole other ball of wax. But at least the Republican Party is telling the truth,” she said.

Odle is also fed up with advertisements. For him, Trump and Vance defend freedom and fairness. “Everyone should be treated equally. …That’s what we need to get back to. And if you look at what Trump actually did with his policies, you know, I call it fairness. Make America Right Again. He hopes Election Day will bring change.

Mark Hackert, a 69-year-old retiree, said he felt “excited about the conservative movement.” This is his first rally in years.

“I would usually vote on election day … but this is the first time I have voted early,” he said, pointing to printer and voting machine failures that shook confidence voters. “Most people here voted early.”

“My faith is ultimately in Jesus,” Hackert said. “And you know, no matter who wins, I’m not going to have a riot.”