©  Courtney Jones; Greg Nash; Adobe

Former President Trump’s first campaign swing since his Manhattan convictions takes him to the sweltering conditions of the American Southwest, where polls show he’s in good shape to potentially win two Sun Belt states that President Biden narrowly carried in 2020.

Trump held a town-hall event Thursday in Phoenix, and he’ll spend the weekend rallying supporters and raising money in Las Vegas.

Biden won Arizona by less than half-a-point in 2020, becoming the first Democrat to win the state since 1996. Biden topped Trump by 2.4 points in Nevada, where the GOP candidate has not won since 2004.

Trump’s southwest campaign comes as a new Fox News poll finds him leading Biden by 5 points in both Arizona and Nevada. The Hill-Decision Desk average of polls shows Trump ahead by 3.3 points in Arizona and 3.4 points in Nevada.

In the Fox News polls, voters overwhelmingly prefer Trump on the economy and immigration.

The U.S. labor market blew past expectations on Friday, adding 272,000 new jobs in May. But many voters say they aren’t feeling the effects of a strong economy because of high prices on gas, food and housing.

It remains to be seen how Biden’s executive order to limit border crossings will be received by voters, but Republicans have a strong and steady advantage on the issue.

Immigration is a particularly salient issue in the border state of Arizona.

“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: I hereby immediately reinstate every single border policy of the gentleman named Donald J. Trump,” Trump said at his Phoenix town-hall.

It’s not all good news for Republicans in Arizona, as two former Trump aides, Mark Meadows and Mike Roman, were arraigned in Maricopa County on charges pertaining to a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election in the state. They pleaded not guilty on Friday. Arizona Republicans have also nominated a polarizing Senate candidate in Kari Lake.

But with polls showing Trump holding small but meaningful leads across the Sun Belt, including in Georgia, which went for Biden in 2020, Democrats are hoping their Blue Wall holds in the Midwest.

The race is effectively tied in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. If Biden holds on to all three he can afford to lose the Sun Belt states to Trump. 

That outcome would give Biden a supremely narrow 270-268 Electoral College victory, if the rest of the 2020 map remains the same.

That’s probably too close for comfort for most Democrats, who worry the protest vote over Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war could cost them in Michigan, with its large Arab and Muslim population.

The Hill’s Alex Gangitano has the latest on Democratic worries over the significant protest vote that has haunted Biden throughout the primaries. More than 500,000 Democrats, including 101,000 in Michigan, have gone to the polls to vote “uncommitted.”

And Washington, D.C., is bracing for Gaza protests this weekend, with organizers expecting tens of thousands will flood the streets around the White House. Protesters already disrupted Vice President Harris’s appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” this week.

In addition, polls continue find Trump with surprising strength in traditionally blue regions. 

A new Fox News poll found the race is tied in Virginia, which Biden carried by double-digits in 2020. 

More campaign news:

• Senate GOP campaign arm pours money into Michigan.
• Democratic senator says Biden has ‘diminished energy’ but remains ‘sharp and commanding.’
• Biden-aligned group trying to keep RFK Jr. off the ballot in New York.

Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Jonathan Easley, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here.

• Russian war ships, including a nuclear submarine, will arrive in Cuba next week.
  
  

• U.S. to resume delivery of aid through Gaza pier, which has been repaired after it fell apart.
  
  
• The U.S. defeated Pakistan at the T20 World Cup of cricket in one of the biggest sports upsets of all time.

© AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld and Ella Lee dug through the latest financial disclosures from the Supreme Court justices on Friday. Eight justices filed, with Justice Samuel Alito receiving a 90-day extension.

The disclosures follow Democratic outrage over reports that Justice Clarence Thomas has received scores of expensive trips and gifts from wealthy benefactors, including some who have had business before the court.

Here are a few nuggets our legal team picked from today’s filing:

• Justice Thomas amended a filing from 2019 to include two trips paid for by billionaire Harlan Crow that were “inadvertently omitted” at the time. According to ProPublica, one of the trips to Bali, Indonesia, included “nine days of island-hopping in a volcanic archipelago on a superyacht staffed by a coterie of attendants and a private chef.” The estimated cost of the trip exceeded $500,000.
  
  
• The eight justices combined to be reimbursed for 19 trips, most of them paid for by colleges and universities.
  
  
• Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch are raking in royalties from book sales.
  
  
• Beyoncé gave Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson free concert tickets. 

The prosecution rested its case on Friday in the trial of Hunter Biden, who faces federal gun charges for allegedly lying about his drug use on an application to purchase a firearm.

It was an emotional day of testimony for the Biden family, as Hunter Biden’s eldest daughter, Naomi Biden, took the stand as a witness for the defense.

• The prosecution questioned Naomi Biden about Hunter Biden’s drug addiction and late night texts she received from him around the time of the gun purchase.
• Naomi Biden left the courtroom teary-eyed and gave her father a hug on the way out.
• First lady Jill Biden, who had been in France to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day with President Biden, flew back overnight to attend the trial.

Before closing, the prosecution presented text messages from Hunter Biden in which he used drug slang and asked about market prices. A forensic chemist testified that white powder on a pouch used by Hunter Biden was cocaine.

The defense called the owner of the gun shop where Biden bought the firearm, as well as an employee. The defense grilled the gun shop workers, trying to raise questions about alleged discrepancies in their processes and paperwork.

Read More:

• What’s the firearms form at the center of Hunter Biden’s trial?

• NewsNation legal analyst: Strong chance Hunter Biden is found guilty.

Former President Trump said in an interview on Thursday that revenge can “sometimes be justified,” as he leaves the door open to prosecuting Democrats if he wins the White House.

Republicans are fuming over the myriad investigations and prosecutions against Trump, who still faces 54 state and federal charges after his conviction last week.

Trump has sent mixed signals, saying he believes his own prosecutions are bad for the country and that no one should have to go through them.

But those remarks contrast with Trump’s occasional outbursts, like he had on Thursday when he said the lawmakers on the Jan. 6 committee must be indicted.

Read More:

• Republican group pushing back on Trump immunity claim.
• House Rules Committee to consider Garland contempt next week.

Newsmakers who will be making the interview rounds this weekend:

Friday

• HBO “Real Time with Bill Maher” on Friday: Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.).

Sunday

• ABC “This Week”: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
• CNN “State of the Union”: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R); Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D).
• FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.); Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.).
• CBS “Face the Nation”: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.); Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.); Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.).

— Compiled by The Hill’s Liz Crisp.

© AP Photo/Evan Vucci

President Biden on Friday invoked the memory of the veterans who stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day 80 years ago as he made the case for a robust American presence on the world stage.

The backdrop for Biden’s remarks was Pointe du Hoc in France overlooking the 100-foot cliff that Army Rangers climbed under heavy enemy fire at a critical moment in World War II.

Without naming Trump, Biden sought to underscore subtle differences with his rival’s “Make America Great Again” ethos.

“My fellow Americans, I refuse to believe, I simply refuse to believe, that America’s greatness is a thing of the past,” Biden said.

Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers commemorated the D-Day anniversary by jumping out of a plane in Normandy. 🪂 The photos are pretty cool.

The New York Times: Biden tries to echo Reagan at Pointe du Hoc.

Peggy Noonan (WSJ op-ed): Reagan at Pointe du Hoc 40 years later.

Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) is leading a push to overturn a Biden administration rule on the care of unaccompanied migrant children detained at the border.

Manchin, who left the Democratic Party last week, is joined on the resolution by 45 Senate Republicans.

The Hill’s Alexander Bolton explains: 

“Manchin says the rule put forth by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would allow for lax or optional vetting of sponsors for the children and would not require a sponsor’s criminal history, including drug abuse, abuse or neglect, to be considered as necessarily disqualifying child welfare concerns.”

Elsewhere, The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch reports that immigrant advocates believe Biden’s border order is on “shaky legal ground.”

“How the Fed can fight inflation and maintain investor confidence,” by Nicholas Sargent, Ph.D., economic consultant for Fort Washington Investment Advisors.

“Will Judge Merchan sentence Trump to prison?,” by Alan Dershowitz, professor emeritus at Harvard University.

20 days until the first presidential debate.

38 days until the Republican National Convention.

73 days until the Democratic National Convention.

151 days until the 2024 general election.

227 days until Inauguration Day 2025.

Saturday

• President Biden attends a state dinner in Paris.

Sunday 

• Former President Trump holds a rally in Las Vegas.
• Biden visits the WWI Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in Northern France before returning to Delaware.

You’re all caught up! Stay with TheHill.com for the latest and recommend this newsletter to others: TheHill.com/Evening. See you next week!