Donald Trump has been snubbed by the Republican governor of Arizona as he heads to the state for a campaign rally on Tuesday, amid fears that the event will attract neo-Nazis determined to wreak havoc.
Doug Ducey, once an outspoken champion of Trump, had no plans to attend the rally in Phoenix, his spokesman told the Arizona Republic newspaper. Democrats said they understood the governor would be over the border in Mexico.
Trump has held seven campaign rallies since becoming president but this will be his first in the west. Officials expect tens of thousands of people in downtown Phoenix, which is braced for a huge police operation to keep supporters and protesters separate and avoid a repeat of the deadly violence that scarred Charlottesville, Virginia, after which the president sought to blame “both sides”.
By 3.30pm, as Trump supporters filed into the venue, a few dozen protesters gathered on the adjacent road outside a Hyatt hotel. The rival groups were separated by about 15ft, steel barriers, a line of police and security guards and some reporters.
The small gap did not prevent some angry exchanges, trading of insults, mutual
jeering and rival chants of “USA! USA!” A Trump supporter with a microphone told the demonstrators: “We know who you are. You’re a bunch of communists. You hate America.”
The man, wearing a red “Make America great again” baseball hat, claimed that Barack Obama’s ancestors had owned slaves and said: “Take down every statue of Obama because his ancestors owned slaves.”
Anti-Trump protesters chanted: “Impeach! Impeach!” and “Putin’s bitch! Putin’s bitch!” They held signs including “Fight hatred, fight fascism”, “Black Lives Matter”, “Nazis will not replace US”, “Denounce white supremacy”, “Save our country: impeach Trump” and “Today’s tasks: do laundry; clean litter boxes; oppose Nazis”.
One placard depicted Trump with a Hitler-style moustache and said: “Stop hate.” But despite the heated exchanges and soaring temperature, there was no violence in the vicinity of the Phoenix convention center.
Ducey’s absence highlights the cracks in the state’s fiercely loyal Republican party. Senators John McCain – whose vote derailed Trump’s healthcare reform – and Jeff Flake have been two of the most prominent voices to criticise the president over Charlottesville and other issues.
The governor could have also sought to avoid embarrassment if Trump decided to use the rally to pardon Joe Arpaio, the former sheriff of Maricopa County, over his recent conviction for breaking the law with his signature immigration patrols.
Although Trump’s unpredictable nature must be taken into account, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters on board Air Force One: “I can tell you that there will be no discussion of that today at any point, and no action will be taken on that front at any point today.”
“I think a pardon for Joe Arpaio is a pardon for white supremacy,” said Jess O’Connell, chief executive of the Democratic National Committee, who is from Arizona.
“Donald Trump has decided to come to Arizona not to help heal our nation but to stoke fears and further divide us. Republicans like Jeff Flake and Doug Ducey have refused to stand up to him and tell him to stay home. It is not enough to make vague comments on hate or, worse, stay silent.
“Republicans must disavow Trump, his presidency and his actions that have empowered white supremacists across the country.”
She added: “History will not forget who stood by while Trump defended white supremacists who sow hate and violence throughout the country.”
The crowd of protesters swelled as the afternoon wore on, with cries of “Shame! Shame!” as they watched Trump supporters file into the Phoenix convention center. There was a colorful array of hats, face masks and costumes, but most eye-catching were two giant inflatables depicting Trump and Arpaio.
Trump visited a US Marine Corps base in the Yuma sector of the US-Mexico border before travelling to Phoenix, marking a return to themes of illegal immigration and building a border wall that he hammered in Arizona during the election campaign.
In a briefing with reporters early on Tuesday, Department of Homeland Security officials said 126,472 individuals had been apprehended while trying to cross the border illegally in the Yuma sector between January and July this year, a 46% drop compared with the same period last year.
Asked if that drop would warrant a freeze or decrease in the number of Border Patrol agents, officials pointed to an increase in the number of migrants apprehended and deported from within the US.
“We can always use more resources,” said one.
Republicans across the country have been torn between a desire to speak out against Trump and the fear of a backlash from his vociferous base. Last month a poll found that Flake had an approval rating of just 37% among registered voters; Trump has reportedly said he will spend $10m in the Republican primary to oust him.
The Democratic congressman Ruben Gallego, who appeared alongside O’Connell at a press conference on Monday, accused Ducey of trying to play it both ways.
“It’s not a coincidence at all that instead of showing leadership, Governor Ducey is running away and running away as fast as possible,” he said on Monday. “We know that in spirit and policy, Governor Ducey and Donald Trump are aligned.”
Gallego welcomed Flake’s criticisms of Trump but noted that he voted with the president 95% of the time. “I appreciate your words, Senator Flake, but your actions matter more. If you want to stop this president, then actually do your constitutional duty and be a check on the executive instead of just writing a book and saying how bad you feel about it.”
Arpaio, notorious for his roundup of undocumented immigrants, was found guilty of criminal contempt when he defied a court’s order in a case involving racial profiling. He is awaiting sentencing in October, when he will face up to six months in prison. Arpaio was a partisan supporter of Trump’s election campaign and last week the president said he was “seriously considering” a pardon.
Gallego said: “It would be a disgrace to the office of the presidency, which I guess at this point we should be used to.
“I would not be surprised that, if the president actually does this, it has nothing to do with Arpaio but actually has to do with him setting the standard of pardons so he can eventually start pardoning his family and all the other people within his campaign that helped to collaborate with the Russians.”
Gallego, a marine veteran, predicted that white supremacists would attempt to cause trouble at or around the rally, on a day where the temperature is expected to be well over 100F (37.7C).
“I’m very fearful there’s going to be violence,” he told the Guardian. “I do believe they’ll turn up, I do believe they’ll turn up armed, because they’re cowards and that’s what they have to do to make themselves feel bigger men.”
But city officials, who have criticised Trump’s decision to hold a political rally so soon after events in Charlottesville, expressed confidence that they could avoid a repeat of that violence.
The Phoenix police chief, Jeri Williams, told reporters: “We plan on creating the situation where people are allowed to exercise their first amendment rights while still providing access and options for public safety to get in and to people if the need arises.”
Some businesses plan to close but no major road closures are planned. On Monday, there seemed little anxiety about the oncoming storm. Randy Morris, 44, a manager and bartender at Seamus McCaffreys pub, which will remain open, said: “I’m optimistic about the event. I don’t think anything bad’s going to happen. I’m going to have a big smile on my face.”
Asked about the potential threat of neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan, Morris replied: “We don’t have that kind of crowd here.”
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