Donald Trump to speak about immigration, other topics in Phoenix next week
Aug 24, 2016, 4:57 PM | Updated: Aug 25, 2016, 11:21 am
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally in Akron, Ohio, Monday, Aug. 22, 2016. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
PHOENIX — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will give a speech next week in Phoenix, it was confirmed Wednesday.
The Trump campaign said he would give the speech at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Phoenix, located near Second and Monroe streets, on Aug. 31. A time for the speech has not been set, but it is likely it will be given in the afternoon.
Trump will likely use the Phoenix speech to further outlay his immigration plan, which has been in the news in recent weeks.
After initially taking a hard-line stance against illegal immigration, Trump appeared to back down this week, promising to be “fair, but firm” toward the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the United States illegally.
The billionaire businessman, whose hard-line approach to immigration and fierce rhetoric propelled him to the GOP presidential nomination, insisted that he’s not “flip-flopping” on the divisive issue as he works to broaden his support two-and-a-half months before the general election.
Earlier this week, the city of Mesa said it was contacted by Trump’s campaign regarding a potential venue for a policy speech. The city said it did not have any available space, but referred the campaign to hotels and resorts in the area.
The speech will be the second time his campaign visits Arizona during August. His vice presidential candidate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, hosted a town hall at the Phoenix Convention Center on Aug. 2.
The upcoming speech will be Trump’s fifth visit to the Valley since launching his campaign last year. The events have drawn large crowds of both supporters and protesters.
He used a December event in Mesa to call for a halt to illegal immigration. Trump said, if the illegal immigration process is not halted, Americans will lose the country.
“If we don’t stop [illegal immigration], we don’t have a country,” he told a crowd of thousands inside an airport hangar at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
