Vice President Mike Pence will be traveling to Tucson next week to accept the endorsement of the Arizona Police Association, which offered its support for the reelection of Republican President Donald Trump, saying "the choice in this election could not be clearer."
Pence's visit to Tucson is part of a two-city trip to Arizona on Tuesday, Aug. 11. He is also scheduled to participate in the Latter-day Saints for Trump Coalition rollout in Mesa later in the day before returning to Washington D.C.
In Tucson, Pence will "deliver remarks reinforcing the Trump administration’s continued support of the men and women serving in law enforcement and their unwavering commitment to never defund the police," according to a press release.
The speech will be given in front of the Arizona Association of Police, which represents 47 member agencies, including the Tucson Police Officers Association, Pima County Deputy Sheriff's Association, Pima County Sheriff's Commanders Association, and Pima County Probation Officers Association, announced its endorsement of Trump over Joe Biden, the former Vice President and presumptive Democratic nominee.
"The Trump administration has done more for law enforcement than any other in the history of our Republic," the endorsement said. "We know that a Biden administration will be driven by the far-left wing of the Democrat party which openly attacks law enforcement. A Biden administration will defund the police and eliminate qualified immunity which protects police and law enforcement from frivolous and costly lawsuits. These radical policies will place the lives of law enforcement officers at greater risk and make our neighborhoods less safe."
Arizona Democratic Party spokesman Matt Grodsky labeled the visit, as well as a reported "tele-rally" with supporters on Tuesday, as "cheap political stunts."
“Nothing Mike Pence says at his tele-rally today or his photo-op next week will change the fact that his boss’s failed pandemic response has tanked our economy and forced millions of Arizonans out of work. These cheap political stunts won’t distract Arizonans from Donald Trump’s disastrous mismanagement of the coronavirus crisis, which has hurt millions of Arizonans and left our most vulnerable communities in the dust," the statement said. "Arizona families desperately need economic relief, a national testing strategy, and a real plan to contain the virus from the White House -- not more empty promises from so-called leaders who are putting politics ahead of public health.”
Pence had previously been scheduled to visit Tucson for a campaign event in late June, but scrapped his scheduled speech at the Westin La Paloma "out of an abundance of caution" as Arizona saw a rise in the number of coronavirus cases.
The Trump administration's focus on Arizona comes as many believe the state, previously a safe Republican hold, is up for grabs in the November election.
