by Matthew Holloway | Jun 8, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
The temperature was a paltry 105 degrees as several thousand Trump supporters flooded the area surrounding the Dream Center Church on Cave Creek Road in Phoenix, AZ. Reports from the Phoenix Fire Department confirmed 11 people were transported to area hospitals to be treated for heat related issues. Nonetheless, the 3,600 house of worship was filled to capacity, with “thousands” turned away according to former President Donald Trump. The Turning Point USA event entitled, “Chase the Vote,” highlighted efforts of the Trump campaign to ensure a massive turnout in the 2024 election.
Beginning his remarks shortly after 2 PM, Trump expressed his thanks to members of Arizona’s GOP Congressional delegation including Congressmen Eli Crane, Andy Biggs, and Paul Gosar in addition to outgoing Congresswoman Debbie Lesko who is seeking a seat on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. Trump endorsed Lesko in her pursuit of what he called “an important job,” noting, “We’ve gotta get them on our side Debbie,” referring to the board led by Chairman Jack Sellers. He added, “You know they’re Republicans but they act like Democrats. We gotta get em’ on our side.”
Trump confidently told the audience that he is “working my *ss off for it to be too big to rig!”
Trump also voiced his support for U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake as well saying, “She’s out there and she’s a warrior I’ll tell you. And she’s a very fine person and a great, great, she’s a great family person, and a great person who loves our country. You’re gonna be your next senator. She’s gotta be your next senator because she’s running against somebody, she’s running against somebody who’s for open borders. Do you like open borders? I don’t think so. You gotta elect Kari Lake. She’s gonna be fantastic. Thank you, Kari. She’s incredible. She’s gonna do a good job. The campaign is just beginning.”
Trump heavily criticized President Joe Biden for his recent executive order limiting asylum claims in the United States lampooning him for “importing more illegal aliens than the population of forty of our fifty states.” The former President soundly dismissed the executive order observing, “If Joe Biden truly wanted to sign an executive order to stop the invasion, he only needs the single, think of it, a single sentence,” he said.
That sentence: “I hereby immediately reinstate every single border policy of the gentleman named Donald J. Trump.”
Trump also announced to raucous applause that he is leading among Hispanic voters citing recent polls. He jokingly suggested that he too had a ‘catch and release policy’, but noted that “I released them in Mexico.”
“I ran because I saw such stupidity,” he said referring to Biden’s border policies, “He wants to turn every single illegal alien that he lets across the border into a voting citizen.”
“By contrast I want to send Joe Biden’s illegal aliens back home… Joe Biden wants an invasion, I want a deportation.”
Zeroing in on the Biden border policy’s implications for Arizona Trump explained, “Biden’s order is not a border security plan. It’s a concession to the fact that he has lost control over our border. He has totally lost control over the border into a really dangerous place. He is conceding death and he is conceding defeat at the border. On day one of my administration I will be rescinding crooked Joe’s outrageous executive order. And I will be slamming the door shut on the Biden migrant app, and I will terminate every single open borders policy of the Biden administration as soon as I take the oath of office.
“It will take place, it will take place on the exact same day. I don’t need to wait weeks. It’s going to be done on the same day that we together, we all take the oath of office. As the result of Biden’s action this week there will be more innocent Americans killed by illegal criminals or more children trafficked and sold into slavery and millions more illegal aliens pouring into our country and many will come through a very beautiful place known as Arizona. Right? Arizona. I tell you, it’s so sad to see what has happened here.”
During his remarks Trump brought former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a candidate for Fountain Hills Mayor onto the stage. The fellow Republican recalled to the gathered audience how Trump took the time to call his late wife Ava, an avid Trump supporter, seven times before she passed away in 2021 after battling cancer.
Addressing his recent conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York, Trump was direct “Those appellate courts have to step up and straighten things out or we’re not going to have a country anymore.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Elizabeth Troutman | May 25, 2024 | News
By Elizabeth Troutman |
Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., offered scholarships to the students in his district who won awards in the Congressional Art Competition.
The U.S. House of Representatives sponsors the Congressional Art Competition, a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in every congressional district in the nation, each spring.
Crane represents Arizona’s second district, which is the northeastern part of the state.
The Phippen Museum in Prescott displayed all submitted artwork. Local judges visited to view and evaluate each piece.
Hannah Pryor, a student at Miami High School, won first place this year for her piece “My Cat.” Hannah will fly to Washington, D.C. for an awards banquet and have her award-winning artwork displayed for a year in the U.S. Capitol.
Grayson Edwards of Mingus Union High School won second place for his piece “The Professional.”
Trinity Christian School student Ethan Orr, who was last year’s first place winner, placed third for “A Stroll in Seoul.”
Clay Witten of Trinity Christian School received Honorable Mention for “Downtown Prescott.”
The People’s Choice award went to Lydia Minjarez from Mingus Union High School for “Zebra Eye.”
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
by Elizabeth Troutman | May 17, 2024 | News
By Elizabeth Troutman |
Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., accused President Joe Biden of “treasonous” conduct in mishandling the border at a Judiciary Committee hearing on May 10.
Crane joined House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and members of the committee in Sahuarita, Arizona for a field hearing titled “The Biden Border Crisis: Arizona Perspectives.”
The hearing examined the effects of the current southwest border crisis on Arizona’s residents and communities.
Crane said the president has “betrayed” the country. He read a definition of treason from the dictionary and said he thinks the president’s behavior qualifies.
“I think it’s treasonous, I absolutely do,” Crane said. “You guys feel betrayed? I know I do.”
The committee members heard from local residents, including a former Border Patrol sector chief, a former sheriff’s deputy, a fifth-generation rancher whose property and leases cover five miles of the border, and a woman who lost two children to fentanyl overdoses.
The witnesses said the border is the worst they’ve seen.
“It’s purposeful, and the purpose is to change the demographics of this country,” said Jim Chilton, the rancher. “It’s politically thought by the administration, Mr. Biden, that these people will vote for Democrats in the future.”
Chris T. Clem, the former high-ranking Border Patrol chief who served from President Clinton to President Biden and is now retired, said the Biden administration aims “to swing power on their behalf.”
Jordan agreed.
“It’s sad because you don’t want to think that about the commander-in-chief,” the Ohio Republican said. “But it’s tough to come up with any other conclusion.”
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
by Elizabeth Troutman | Apr 15, 2024 | News
By Elizabeth Troutman |
Legislation to strengthen border security against illicit drugs passed out of committee on Wednesday.
The House Committee on Homeland Security passed the Subterranean Border Defense Act, which was introduced by Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., and Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif. The bill awaits further action on the House Floor.
The bill would require annual reports to Congress on counter illicit cross-border tunnel operations.
“Effective border security is created by overlapping deterrents. My legislation would help ensure that Congress has the necessary data to forge another much-needed layer of defense—especially when the Biden Administration’s policies have left our country inexcusably vulnerable,” Crane said. “I’m grateful to Chairman Green for his support of this bill and for his distinguished leadership on the Committee.”
Illicit cross-border tunnels along the southwest border of the United States represent a significant and growing threat to national security, according to a news release from the congressman.
Law enforcement officials have discovered more than 140 tunnels that have breached the U.S. border since 1990. There has been an 80% increase in tunnel activity occurring since 2008.
House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green said the committee is committed to protecting America from cartels.
“Illicit cross-border tunnel operations are more evidence that vicious criminal cartels will stop at nothing to smuggle weapons, drugs, and illegal aliens into this country to our detriment, and for their profit,” Green said. “DHS must provide Congress with reporting on these operations annually, as well as the Border Patrol’s efforts to stop them, as these operations are a threat to all Americans.”
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
by Elizabeth Troutman | Apr 14, 2024 | News
By Elizabeth Troutman |
The House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday which would enable Gila County, Arizona to operate a veterans center on 232 acres in Young, Arizona.
Introduced by Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., the bill creates the first center of its kind in northern Arizona, providing resources and support to primarily rural veterans and their families.
This veterans center is so crucial for rural veterans in northern Arizona who selflessly served our nation,” Crane said. “I’m grateful to see my colleagues in the House recognize the significance of this land transfer.”
The federal government retains large amounts of land, limiting states’ ability to maintain, conserve, recreate, and responsibly produce on the lands within their own borders, according to Crane. Transferring ownership to Gila County would guard the property’s history and provide family housing, meeting and activity spaces, resource rooms, Veteran Ceremonial Grounds, and outdoor recreation.
“This was the first piece of legislation I introduced and is a testament to the significance of northern Arizona’s veterans,” Crane said. “Anytime Congress can vote on legislation that returns power to the states is a good thing.”
Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., and former Rep. Tom O’Halleran, D-Ariz., co-sponsored the bipartisan effort legislation last Congress.
Crane thanked the House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman and Subcommittee Chairman Tom Tiffany for their leadership. Westerman said Congress must do all it can to thank veterans and their families for their sacrifice.
“The commonsense, bipartisan land transfer provided by H.R. 1829 will do just that by opening up new experiences to veterans in the area for recreation and recovery,” Westerman said. “A veteran himself, Representative Crane has led on these issues this Congress, and I look forward to continuing to work with him to get this bill through the Senate and signed into law.”
Democratic Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Krysten Sinema introduced the bill in the Senate.
In the hearing, Crane asked Gila County Supervisor Woody Cline about the purpose of the veterans center.
Gila County Supervisor Woody Cline testified before the House Natural Resources Committee on the significant impacts and outstanding resources the center would provide for veterans and their families in the region. He said the site would be one of two in Arizona.
“It’s huge for our local community as well,” he said. “We have a local veteran community of about 100 people right there in that small town. And then right there between us and Payson, there’s roughly another 5,000-7,000 more right there. Having this accessible, not only to the local members, the state members, the national members, but also, we’re adjacent to the White Mountain Apache Tribe that is not very far away that has a number of veterans in that reservation as well that have been big supporters of this project. It means everything to these folks.”
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
