TUCSON, Ariz. — Former President Barack Obama spoke at a rally in Tucson Friday to try to shore up votes for Vice President and Democratic nominee for president Kamala Harris.
Obama discussed everything from abortion rights to how former President Donald Trump handled border issues when he was in office.
"Why was the number of undocumented immigrants basically the same when he left office as when he took office? I'll tell you why, because he didn't have a real plan and he still doesn't," Obama said of Trump. "What he had is talking points. What he had is a concept of a plan and by the way, it was a mean and ugly concept."
Obama said if she becomes president, Harris will sign the bipartisan border deal that Trump derailed earlier this year and accused Trump of not wanting to solve the problem at the border because it is a good issue to campaign on.
"You know what would actually help bring order to the border and actually help fix our immigration system? The bipartisan deal that Kamala Harris supported, even though it was written by one of the most conservative Republicans in Congress," Obama said. And Donald Trump deliberately lobbied against it and told Republicans don't vote for it because he figured that if you passed it, he would not be able to engage in the same kind of fear-mongering that he's been doing."
The former president recently campaigned for Harris in Pittsburgh and has an appearance scheduled Saturday in Nevada. He will be in Wisconsin and Michigan next week.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: El expresidente Barack Obama llegó a Arizona para hacer campaña a favor de Kamala Harris
Obama was joined in Tucson by Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, Chairman of the Tohono O'odham Nation Verlon Jose, Mayor of Tucson Regina Romero, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, former Rep. Gabby Giffords and U.S. Senate candidate Ruben Gallego, among others.
Those who attended were excited to see the former president speak in person for the first time.
"I thought it was great. Obama was really good at controlling the crowd, like you could tell how much love everybody had for him. It was amazing," one rallygoer said.
The Harris-Walz campaign is trying to rally support in the Sun Belt with several Democratic politicians scheduled to be in Arizona through next week.
On Tuesday, J.D. Vance will be in Peoria and Tucson. Former President Bill Clinton will campaign for Harris on Wednesday in Phoenix.
12News is in Tucson and will update this story throughout the evening.
Decision 2024
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