In Arizona, California and Nevada, Trump focuses on his favorite foil: immigrants

Former President Donald Trump is on swing through the southwest, with rallies in Tucson, Ariz. and Las Vegas, and a press conference this morning at his southern California golf course.

According to campaign statements, he’s focused on the economy in Arizona and Nevada, where the cost of living — particularly the cost of housing — is top of mind for voters in states where rents and mortgages have soared since the pandemic.

On Friday morning, he also used the economy and high costs of living to attack Vice President Harris. Trump labeled her and California Gov. Gavin Newsom responsible for what he described as the economic demise of the state.

“It's very sad when I have to stand out here on my property and say how bad California is,” Trump said in Ranchos Palos Verdes.

Trump spoke in his typical meandering fashion for almost 40 minutes before taking questions in an event the campaign called a press conference. He then answered questions from the assembled journalists for a little under 30 minutes.

In this border state, he continued to peddle false information about immigrant communities in Aurora, Colo., and Springfield, Ohio, just like he did in his first post-debate rally in Arizona.

After bringing up debunked claims about immigrants in Tuesday's presidential debate, Trump spent much of his rally address in Tucson repeating false claims that legal Haitian migrants — who he falsely claims are illegal — are abducting and eating family pets.

And despite pushback from officials in Colorado, he continues to say Venezuelan gangs are running rampant and unchecked in the Denver suburb of Aurora.

During his California press conference, Trump repeated his campaign promise for mass deportation, name checking Ohio and Colorado.

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