Former President Donald Trump was "on point" with the comments he made about the border situation during his weekend rally in Phoenix, Arizona state Rep. Jake Hoffman told Newsmax Monday.
"The border crisis is at levels never seen before in this country," the 12th District Republican told Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "Arizona is a border state. We see it firsthand."
He added that he's hearing from border county officials that the situation is becoming dire.
"In counties like Cochise County, which is a border county, over 33% of their jails are filled with illegal immigrants that have crossed the border illegally," Hoffman said. "Their violent crime is up over 300% right now, and that's just one county. We see it in multiple counties, so the president was right."
Hoffman added that Trump was also right about policies under President Joe Biden, as "they've been dangerous and they put not only jobs and the economy in jeopardy, but they put lives, well being, and the safety of Americans in jeopardy, including right here in Arizona."
Hoffman said he's proud that the Arizona legislature has appropriated nearly $60 million toward border security.
"We as a state have to take responsibility, given that the federal government simply won't do their job right now," said Hoffman, adding that Trump "made that case better than I've heard just about anybody in recent times."
Meanwhile, Hoffman said that if Trump's speech is any indication, the former president has the energy, willpower, and the message to run again for the White House in 2024.
"It was a rally about protecting our elections," said Hoffman. "I sponsored more than half of the election integrity bills that got signed into law. The president laid out the case for why we have to secure our elections. It's not just an important issue. It is the issue. It has become the civil rights issue of our day that we make sure that every state follows Arizona's lead and audits their vote to make sure that the process of administrating the elections is effective."
Note: See Newsmax TV now carried in more than 100 million U.S. homes, on DirecTV Ch. 349, Dish Network Ch. 216, Xfinity Ch. 1115, Spectrum, U-verse Ch. 1220, FiOS Ch. 615, Frontier Ch. 115, Optimum Ch. 102, Cox cable, Suddenlink Ch. 102, Mediacom Ch. 277, AT&T TV Ch 349, FUBO and major OTT platforms like Roku, YouTube, Xumo, Pluto and most smart TV’s including Samsung+, Sony, LG, Vizio and more – Find All Systems that Carry Newsmax – Click Here
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.