5 times Arizona took center stage at Republican convention, from fake bandages to Kari Lake

Former President Donald Trump took the stage at the 2024 Republican National Convention Thursday, capping off four days of speeches, parties and more.

Arizona played a part in the convention. Forty-three delegates voted to formally nominate Donald Trump as the Republican presidential candidate. Three “everyday Americans” and a U.S. candidate from Arizona spoke at a convention in Milwaukee, highlighting immigration issues and the drug crisis.

Here’s everything you need to know about all the Arizona moments from the 2024 Republican National Convention.

Fake ear bandages: ‘The newest fashion trend’

Among the sea of people wearing the distinctive red “Make America Great Again” hats on Monday and Tuesday, several attendees sported makeshift bandages on their ears, the latest fashion accessory some are using to showcase their loyalty to former President Donald Trump after he wore one during his convention appearance Monday.

Joe Neglia, a 63-year-old delegate from Tempe, said the prop he wore on his right ear was an homage to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. In an interview with CBS News, he called it “the newest fashion trend” and added that he crafted the fake bandage while on the bus to the second day of the convention.

“It’s just in sympathy with Donald Trump,” Neglia told The Guardian. “I saw that man get shot; I thought that man has almost given his life for his country; he deserves some respect for that.”

‘Americans are waking up to the truth’

Kari Lake, a Trump-endorsed Senate candidate, will be on Arizona’s 2024 ballot. A name already familiar to many Arizona voters after she lost the 2022 race for governor, Lake was at the convention to show support for the former president and promote her own campaign.

Lake began her address by calling out the media members in the venues. The former Fox 10 anchor claimed the media has been lying about ‘everything,’ but most importantly, Trump and his supporters.

“The really good thing is that every day, more and more people are turning off the fake news,” Lake said. “And Americans are waking up to the truth about the disastrous Democrat policies pushed by Joe Biden and his favorite congressman, and my opponent, Ruben Gallego.”

She blamed Gallego for allowing criminals and drugs to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, a topic frequently discussed during the convention. She also took aim at “indoctrination” in schools and “Bidenomics,” pledging to eliminate both when she and Trump take office.

 ‘Who doesn’t miss the Trump days?’

Sara Workman is a single mother who feels the pressure of rising gas and grocery prices. She told the audience that going to the gas pump makes her wonder, ‘Who doesn’t miss the Trump days?’

“But it’s not just the economic pain we’re all feeling under Joe Biden. It’s how they’re destroying the American spirit,” Workman said.

Many “everyday American” speakers shared that inflation during Biden’s term has caused them to struggle to provide their families with basic needs. But Workman also shared how Democratic border policies have contributed to her husband “falling victim” to the drug epidemic, leaving her to take care of their son by herself.

“While the left is trying to divide us with identity politics, we are here tonight because we believe that America is always, and should be, one nation under God,” she said.

Echoing the hopes of other Republicans at the convention, Workman said she will be voting for Trump to restore the economy and preserve the American family.

‘Small towns like mine bear the brunt of the chaos’

David Lara, a Yuma-based business owner, shared the story of his hometown of San Luis. His small city sits approximately 70 miles from the Mexican border and has been directly affected by the difference between Biden’s and Trump’s attitudes toward border security.

His community has seen schoolchildren being exposed to drugs and hospitals being overwhelmed by migrant care. During Biden’s term, Lara said the president had never visited his town or properly addressed the severity of the border crisis.

“San Luis wasn’t always this way. And Joe Biden, Kamala Harris do not care,” Lara said. 

Lara remembers Trump in San Luis while on a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border. This memory and the former president’s promise to prioritize increased immigration security is why Lara said he will vote for him in November.

‘It’s chemical warfare’

Jim and Sue Chilton, a couple married for 60 years, own a ranch in Arivaca that lines 5.5 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. According to Jim Chilton, thousands of illegal immigrants have entered the family ranch claiming economic asylum, leading to death and violence on their land.

“Every time Jim leaves the ranch house, I have to worry that he won’t come back alive,” Sue Chilton said.

Agreeing with many other Republican speakers like Lara and Workman, the Chiltons condemned the flow of drugs into the U.S. and attributed the increased crime and violence in their community to weak border security.

“The cartel drug smugglers are crossing our nation’s borders every day. They are bringing lethal drugs into our country,” Sue Chilton said. “This is chemical warfare.”

The two ranchers said they were voting for Trump so the border wall that fences their ranch can finally be completed and ranchers along the Arizona border can feel safe again.