“Too Little Too Late” was the theme of a rally made up of Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D) supporters that took place outside of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism an hour before Kirkpatrick and Arizona Sen. John McCain (R) took to the Arizona PBS stage to debate.
“We’re out here tonight rallying specifically against John McCain,” said ProgressNow Arizona Executive Director Josselyn Berry. “If Donald Trump’s recent comments about women and sexual assault are what finally broke John McCain’s support of him, I think that’s interesting, that’s too little, too late because Trump has always been this type of person.”
During the debate between McCain and Kirkpatrick, McCain responded to a social media question asking what took him so long to withdraw his support of Trump.
John McCain, why did it take you so long to disavow Donald Trump? #AZDebate
— Dave Rublin (@DaveBngDave) October 8, 2016
McCain responded to the question by saying he spoke out strongly against several issues in which he disagreed with Trump, including Trump’s criticisms of the Khan family, who lost their son in the Iraq War. McCain said that when he supported Trump, it was because he was the nominee of the Republican Party.
Moderator Yvonne Wingett Sanchez of The Arizona Republic asked McCain if he thought his credibility had been damaged in supporting Donald Trump.
“The people of Arizona know me and my service to them, and my character and my integrity,” McCain responded.
McCain said he worries about the future of the Republican Party and said it will have a lot of work to do once the election is over.
At the rally, District 24 House Rep. Lela Alston said trade “is a huge issue.” Alston said Phoenix has a number of individuals from Mexico and other countries. “We need those people. We need to celebrate our diversities and we need not to offend our trading partners,” she said.
During the debate, Sanchez asked Kirkpatrick why voters should expect anything different with her in office, since immigration reform was not enacted when the Democratic party controlled both chambers of Congress and the White House.
Kirkpatrick said, “We all know this law is broken. It’s an economic issue because it hurts business, but it’s a moral issue because it’s tearing family’s apart.”
Kirkpatrick mentioned her immigration working group that meets periodically, and how she introduced legislation that “would allow dreamers to work on Capitol Hill.”
McCain said he was able to get immigration reform approved in the United States Senate.
“That border is going to be secure with the legislation that I was able to get through in the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) including the use of drones, and towers and increasing border patrol,” McCain said.
During the debate, the candidates discussed other issues as well, such as the Affordable Care Act and President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee.
ASU Young Democrats President Austin Marshall, one of the organizers of the rally, said everyone in attendance was there to show that Ann Kirkpatrick had support.
“We just think that the senate, you know, really needs fresh blood and that Ann Kirkpatrick is really the person to do that,” Marshall said.
Contact the reporter at Holly.Bernstein@asu.edu.
