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Live blog: President Donald Trump visits Yuma, hosts rally in Phoenix

Aug 22, 2017, 10:18 AM | Updated: 11:05 pm

President Donald Trump waves as he walks across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tu...

President Donald Trump waves as he walks across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017, to board Marine One for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md. and then onto Yuma, Ariz. to visit the U.S. border with Mexico and attend a rally in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

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BY KTAR.COM


PHOENIX — President Donald Trump was scheduled to visit a Marine base in Yuma and host a campaign-style rally in Phoenix on Tuesday.

Details were scarce in the hours leading up to the trip. It was thought the president may visit the border during his stop in Yuma, but that was not confirmed by the White House.

It was unknown what Trump would speak about at the 7 p.m. rally at the Phoenix Convention Center. He could endorse Dr. Kelli Ward, who is running against incumbent Jeff Flake for one of Arizona’s Senate seats.

A pardon of former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was ruled out by the White House.

Multiple streets and bushiness were closed in downtown Phoenix for the rally and expected protests.

The Phoenix Police Department had said multiple times that it was ready for large crowds. Tuesday will be the president’s first major event since violence erupted less than two weeks ago at a white supremacist protest in Charlottesville, Virginia.

KTAR News 92.3 FM will cover the president’s visit all day and will also carry his speech live. You can listen to it on the radio, our app or online.

You can also keep up with the visit with our live blog below.

10:42 p.m.

The Phoenix Police Department gave a media briefing. Chief Jeri Williams said four people had been arrested; two for aggravated assault, one for criminal damage and one for an unrelated incident that dealt with a warrant.

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton commended the police work, and said there were no injuries except for heat-related ones in the area.

Stanton also said he didn’t believe those arrested had anything to do with the organizations expressing their opinions Tuesday night.

10:19 p.m.

Crowds dispersed and most protesters left the downtown Phoenix area.

9:37 p.m.

Protesters and police faced each other in downtown Phoenix after tear gas and flashbangs were deployed to disperse the crowds.

9:15 p.m.

Protesters were still clashing in the streets as flashbangs continued going off in downtown Phoenix.

8:51 p.m.

Protests broke out shortly after President Trump concluded his speech at the Phoenix Convention Center.

Phoenix Police said bottles and rocks were thrown at them, so they used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse the crowd.

8:26 p.m.

Trump finishes speaking at the Phoenix Convention Center.

8:02 p.m.

Trump becomes repeatedly frustrated that the repealing and replacing of Obamacare was one vote away. However, he didn’t want to mention any names.

7:48 p.m.

Trump gets the crowd pumped up about former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. He said he wouldn’t pardon Arpaio Tuesday because he didn’t “want to cause controversy.” He did strongly allude to pardoning him in the future.

7:41 p.m.

President Donald Trump wraps up a 20-minute media bashing segment of his speech, calling the media “sick” and “dishonest.”

7:17 p.m.

The Phoenix Police Department said there had been no arrests yet in the area of Trump’s rally.

7:12 p.m.

President Donald Trump said that he was told by the Secret Service that the size of the protesting crowd outside the Phoenix Convention Center is small.

7:08 p.m.

President Donald Trump walks onto the stage after getting introduced by Vice President Mike Pence.

7:00 p.m.

Vice President graces the stage at the Phoenix Convention Center to introduce President Donald Trump.

“Optimism is sweeping across the country,” Pence said.

He added that unemployment hasn’t been so low in 16 years.

6:50 p.m.

Trump arrived inside the Phoenix Convention Center.

6:43 p.m.

Trump’s motorcade arrived at the Phoenix Convention Center, where the crowd has grown outside.

6:15 p.m.

Trump leaves his hotel where he will stay Tuesday night in Scottsdale to head to the Phoenix Convention Center. State Route 51 and Interstate 10 were closed to let the president’s motorcade roll through freely.

5:10 p.m.

Protesters for and against Trump chant and make their voices heard outside the Phoenix Convention Center in anticipation of the president’s rally.

Phoenix police is keeping plenty of separation between the two groups, a point of emphasis after people grew critical of how police in Charlottesville allowed the groups to interact with each other, which resulted in violence.

4:05 p.m.

And he’s arrived. Gov. Doug Ducey welcomed President Trump on the tarmac about 10 minutes after greeting Vice President Mike Pence at Sky Harbor.

Arizona congressmen Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs and Trent Franks were also on-hand to greet the president.

3:51 p.m.

Ducey welcomed Pence on the tarmac just as Air Force One readied to land.

3:35 p.m.

Here’s a peek from FlightAware.com at how the air space in southwest Arizona was cleared for Air Force One just after it lifted off from Yuma on the way to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

flight_aware_president_trump

3:05 p.m.

Trump has boarded Air Force One and is on his way to Phoenix.

2:30 p.m.

Trump met with members of both the military and Border Patrol before his speech in Phoenix.

In the meantime, Phoenix officials continued to up security near the convention center.

1:50 p.m.

Trump will not pardon Arpaio during the Phoenix rally, the White House said.

“There will be no discussion of that [Tuesday] and no action will be taken on that at any point [Tuesday],” press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told media aboard Air Force One.

The announcement came just minutes before the president’s plane landed in Yuma.

1:03 p.m.

Trump tweeted that tickets were still available for Tuesday’s event.

The Phoenix Fire Department was reminding really attendees to drink plenty of water and prepare for summer temperatures.

12:38 p.m.

Both protesters and supporters of Trump began arriving in downtown Phoenix early Tuesday ahead of the rally. Some traveled across the country to attend.

Despite recent tensions nationwide, there was an air of hope that cooler heads would prevail.

“Am I worried? Not really,” Gene Huber, a supporter who flew in from Florida, said.

“I don’t want to see that violence. I hope the police are secure and they keep everyone separated. Am I worried? Not at all. Not one bit.”

11:31 a.m.

Just hours before Air Force One was scheduled to touch down in Arizona, a Democratic congressman again branded the president as a racist.

“The president is clearly racist,” U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego told CNN. “I don’t understand how much more history we need and more examples.”

9:40 a.m.

Mike Russell gave his list of the five things he expects to see at Trump’s rally on Tuesday. At the top of the list? Traffic.

Several streets and multiple businesses were expected to close prior to the event.

9:20 a.m.

Trump has boarded Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. He was expected to land at the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma about 1 p.m. Arizona time.

The president was scheduled to tour both the base and the U.S.-Mexico border.

KTAR News’ Jim Cross contributed to this report.

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Live blog: President Donald Trump visits Yuma, hosts rally in Phoenix