ELECTIONS

Trump pounds Clinton over 'corruption' at Phoenix rally

Dan Nowicki, and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez
The Republic | azcentral.com
Presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at the Phoenix Convention Center on Oct. 29, 2016 in Phoenix.

Donald Trump returned Saturday to Arizona, a surprise swing state, stoking a downtown Phoenix crowd and accusing rival Hillary Clinton of historic "corruption" as the 2016 presidential race is in its final stretch.

Ten days before Election Day, Trump is trying to turn continuing questions about Clinton's use of a personal email server while U.S. secretary of State into fresh momentum for his campaign.

READ:Azcentral's complete coverage of Donald Trump's October visit

The Republican nominee, who was making his seventh campaign stop here, sounded his usual crowd-pleasing themes — promises to secure the border, build a wall and end a "crime wave" caused by undocumented immigrants, and to end the "catastrophe" of "Obamacare," or the Affordable Care Act.

But the celebrity billionaire also hit hard the corruption allegations against Clinton, the Democratic nominee.

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

"This is the biggest political scandal since Watergate..."

"This is the biggest political scandal since Watergate and it's everybody's deepest hope that justice, at last, will be beautifully delivered," Trump told the thousands inside the Phoenix Convention Center. "Hillary has no one but herself to blame for her mounting legal difficulties. Her criminal action was willful, deliberate, intentional and purposeful.

"Hillary set up an illegal server for the obvious purpose of shielding her criminal conduct from public disclosure and exposure," Trump continued. "She set up this illegal server knowing full well that her actions put our national security at risk and put the safety and security of your children and your families at risk. But she didn't care."

It was a message the crowd appeared eager to hear. Long before Trump took the stage the crowd chanted “Lock her up!” in reference to Clinton.

The Trump campaign, which has been trailing in the polls, got an adrenaline shot Friday, after FBI Director James Comey told members of Congress that the FBI was continuing to review emails it deemed pertinent to its investigation of Clinton's use of a private server. Comey this summer said criminal charges were not warranted in the case.

The Clinton campaign and its supporters have ripped Comey over the timing of the announcement, less than two weeks before the Nov. 8 presidential election, and have demanded the immediate release of all information related to the review. "The American people deserve to get the full and complete facts immediately," Clinton told reporters in Iowa on Friday.

Citing reports of friction between President Barack Obama's Justice Department and the FBI, Trump floated a conspiracy theory that Clinton may have offered U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch reappointment in her administration. He said that may have been what Bill Clinton, Clinton's husband, discussed with Lynch during an unscheduled June meeting between the former president on Lynch on the tarmac at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

The Justice Department is trying to protect Clinton from the consequences of her criminal activity, Trump said.

"There are those, and I happen to be one of them, who think Hillary offered Loretta Lynch, the attorney general, a reappointment as attorney general if Hillary were to become president," Trump said to loud boos. "A lot of people feel that way, right? Perhaps that was what Bill Clinton was arranging when he met with Attorney General Lynch on her airplane on the tarmac on a very, very warm day, right here in Arizona."

At the time of the Sky Harbor meeting, Lynch said their conversation "was a great deal about his grandchildren" and "was primarily social and about our travels." But it has fueled speculation that Bill Clinton was trying to influence the then-ongoing investigation into his wife's email controversy.

With time running short before the election, Trump pulled no punches in his all-out attack on Clinton's integrity.

"Lied to Congress under oath, many times. Lied to the FBI, many times," Trump said of his opponent.

The ongoing WikiLeaks releases of hacked emails from the Clinton campaign, he said, have exposed "criminal corruption at the highest levels of our government."

"Hillary put the office of Secretary of State up for sale — look at what's happened — and if she ever got the chance, she would put the Oval Office up for sale also," Trump said.

"Hillary Clinton’s corruption is corrosive to the soul of our nation, and it must be stopped," he said at another point.

Arizona's role in the election

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to a crowd at the Phoenix Convention Center on Aug. 31, 2016.

In July 2015, Trump held one of his campaign's first large events at the Phoenix Convention Center, the same venue he returned to on Saturday. He gave a nod to that rally on Saturday. In August, he delivered a fiery speech on illegal immigration at the convention center. Over the course of the race, Trump also has made appearances in Mesa, Fountain Hills and Prescott Valley.

More than in past Arizona appearances, Trump appeared Saturday to largely follow prepared remarks.

Saturday's official crowd count was 6,698 people, according to a Phoenix city spokeswoman.

Since accepting the GOP nomination, Trump has found himself locked in a tight battle against Clinton in Arizona, a state that has been carried by a Democratic presidential candidate just once — President Bill Clinton in 1996 — since President Harry Truman did so in 1948.

"We are going to win the state of Arizona and we are going to win back the White House," Trump said.

Brewer, Arpaio make their case for Trump

Sheriff Joe Arpaio speaks in support of Republican  presidential candidate Donald Trump before a rally at the Phoenix Convention Center on Oct. 29, 2016 in Phoenix.

Former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, one of Trump's campaign surrogates, mentioned the prospect of Arizona turning from red to blue in her warm-up remarks at the rally. "Don't boo — vote! Vote for the sake of our country!" Brewer told the crowd.

What would it be like, she asked, if they could stand alongside Trump and say, “Thank you, Mr. President, for defending our country. … And most importantly, Thank you Mr. President, for securing our border.”

The crowd chanted: “Build the wall! Build the wall!”

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a Republican who is in a tough re-election fight, bragged that Saturday was his seventh time standing with Trump. “And I’ll stand by him to the end,” Arpaio said.

Arpaio ticked off past presidential candidates he has supported. The crowd booed Arpaio's mention of Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP nominee who has extensively criticized Trump. He retold the story of how Trump has telephoned his wife, who is fighting cancer. That proves Trump has a heart, he said.

MORE:  Romney to stump for McCain in Mesa

Later, Trump, in turn, urged voters to re-elect Arpaio.

Arpaio took aim at the media, suggesting coverage of Trump is unfair. Arpaio's comment drew extended boos directed at reporters and camera operators covering the rally.

One member of crowd captured on video posted to Twitter screamed at the media, "Jew.S.A. Jew.S.A.," while the rest of the crowd chanted, "U.S.A."

What Trump supporters had to say

Martin Gutherage, a Republican from Mesa, said he has been a Trump supporter since U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas “blew it.” This was his first Trump rally.

“He’s tough on borders, the economy, and hopefully he’ll get rid of all the politicians,” he said. “They’re taking this country down the gutter, and it’s not just Hillary. It’s all of them. They’re all so self-serving.”

Gutherage, 49, said he didn’t think the probe into Clinton’s emails would sway Trump or Clinton supporters. “I think it’ll affect the independents though,” he said.

Lin Ashly, a Peoria independent voter, said Trump proved again Saturday “that he is a brilliant” man.

“He’s going to change our nation back to what it should be,” said Ashly, a retired small business owner. “He’s equivalent to one of our most prominent presidents of the past … he’s not Abraham Lincoln, by no means, but he’s going to make a mark on the nation, just as Lincoln did," she said.

Ashly said she has followed Trump since early on in his bid for the presidency. She said his stance on nominating conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices and going after Clinton’s corruption, resonated with her.

Mario Sekelsky, 16-year-old Phoenix resident, said he can’t wait to vote for Trump in four years.

“I like his messages about Hillary and her lies,” he said. “I think he hits it right on the dot. I’m rooting for him. My mom and everybody, my parents, are voting for him. When I’m older and he wants to run for another four years, I’m going to vote for him.”