Walz mocks Trump over crowd size at Arizona rally

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) on Friday mocked former President Trump as he and Vice President Harris drew yet another significant crowd during a campaign stop in Arizona.

Walz, addressing a crowd of roughly 15,000 people in Phoenix, admired the audience and noted the campaign drew a similar crowd in Detroit a day earlier.

“But Arizona — just couldn’t leave it alone, could you?” Walz said. “It’s not as if anybody cares about crowd sizes or anything.”

The Harris campaign has throughout the week drawn larger crowds than Democrats had managed at any point previously in the election cycle, a sign of the enthusiasm behind the vice president’s White House bid after President Biden ended his candidacy.

The size of Harris’s crowds and resulting media coverage appeared to irk Trump, who typically draws thousands of people to his campaign rallies.

“Oh, give me a break,” Trump said during a Thursday press conference when asked if he was worried about the size of Harris’s crowds. 

“Listen, I had 107,000 people in New Jersey, you didn’t report it. I’m so glad you asked. What did she have yesterday, 2,000 people?” Trump continued. “If I ever had 2,000 people, you’d say my campaign is finished.”

Friday marked Harris’s first trip to Arizona and the Sun Belt since she launched her presidential campaign following President Biden’s decision not to seek reelection. She was joined by Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who is running for Senate, and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who was a finalist to serve as Harris’s running mate.

Kelly, a veteran, swiped at Trump over attacks some Republicans have launched against Walz regarding his military service. Walz served in the National Guard for 24 years but left the service to run for office months before his unit deployed overseas.

“Trump calls those who served ‘suckers’ and ‘losers.’ And he has zero respect for any of us who have worn the uniform,” Kelly said. “Folks here in Arizona, we do not attack people for their service to our country.”

Trump won Arizona in 2016 by roughly 3 percentage points, but he lost the state to Biden in 2020 by roughly 11,000 votes.