--- title: Donald Trump: Phoenix Rally Shows Him in Attack Mode description: Just one day after a sober televised address on Afghanistan, President Trump returned to attack mode at a campaign rally in Arizona. canonical: https://time.com/4911909/donald-trump-phoenix-rally/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-23T05:07:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T17:07:18.708Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump Goes on the Attack, Again og:description: In a campaign rally in Arizona. og:url: https://time.com/4911909/donald-trump-phoenix-rally/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt624a637c46922314/6988dad38fd2eeeade35888d/trump-rally-phoenix.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: President Trump Holds Rally In Phoenix, Arizona og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Goes on the Attack, Again twitter:description: In a campaign rally in Arizona. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt624a637c46922314/6988dad38fd2eeeade35888d/trump-rally-phoenix.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Goes on the Attack, Again > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=9afdf0dd-d873-4f5a-ae67-a7554ce10ef1&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * D.C. Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=9afdf0dd-d873-4f5a-ae67-a7554ce10ef1&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=9afdf0dd-d873-4f5a-ae67-a7554ce10ef1&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Aug 23, 2017 5:07 AM UTC  President Donald Trump at a rally at the Phoenix Convention Center on August 22, 2017. President Donald Trump at a rally at the Phoenix Convention Center on August 22, 2017. Ralph Freso—Getty Images by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Aug 23, 2017 5:07 AM UTC Just one day after a [sober televised address](http://time.com/4908538/why-president-trump-is-staying-in-afghanistan/) on Afghanistan, President Trump returned to attack mode, waging an all-out assault on his critics during a [campaign rally](http://time.com/4911850/donald-trump-maga-rally-phoenix/) in Arizona. Addressing thousands of supporters in Phoenix, Trump went on offense during a 77-minute airing of grievances against his political opponents, while [protesters gathered outside](http://time.com/4911863/donald-trump-phoenix-rally-protest/). The commander in chief criticized a war hero with brain cancer and a senator from his own party facing re-election next year on their home turf. He panned the Republican leader of the Senate, whose wife serves in his Cabinet. And he accused members of the media of being unpatriotic. He also returned to his campaign habit of making bold promises that may prove problematic. He hinted that he may pull the U.S. out of the North American Free Trade Agreement at some point. He teased that he will [pardon controversial former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio](http://time.com/4881251/joe-arpaio-phoenix-arizona/), who was convicted of criminal contempt. And he essentially threatened a government shutdown to force Congress to pay for a border wall which he had once promised Mexico would fund. “If we have to close down our government, we are building that wall,” Trump declared. Still smarting from the poor reception of his response to the white nationalist violence in Charlottesville, Trump litigated his handling of the issue yet again. He railed against criticism that he had [failed to sufficiently denounce white nationalist protesters](http://time.com/4910203/donald-trump-charlottesville-protest-poll/) in his initial remarks as well as at a freewheeling press conference last week. “The words were perfect,” he said. Trump also repeated the words from his initial response to the protests, which claimed the life of a counterprotester, conveniently leaving out the much-criticized part where he blamed “many sides” of the conflict for the violence. He also sought to recast the debate, [focusing on the Confederate monuments](http://time.com/4904679/confederate-monument-removal/) which sparked the protests and again arguing they should not be removed from the public square. “They’re trying to take our culture,” he said. “They’re trying to take our history.” Trump’s stem-winding performance was hardly designed to win over the majority of Americans dissatisfied with his job performance or his incendiary comments on this month’s Charlottesville clashes. With his legislative agenda stalled, the prospect of a government shutdown rising, and scandals of his own creation dominating headlines, Trump sought to rally his core base of supporters. The freeform performance frequently deviated from the prepared remarks on the teleprompter, as Trump repeated falsehoods about his legislative record and even suggested that news networks were cutting away from his remarks mid-speech. (CNN, his most-frequent target, carried Trump’s speech live in its entirety.) The beleaguered president trotted out some of his most high-profile surrogates for the rally, including Vice President Mike Pence, HUD Secretary Ben Carson, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and evangelical leader Franklin Graham. It came as Trump has tested the tolerance of mainstream Republicans, whom he mocked and attacked, and who have grown weary of being forced to defend their party’s nominal leader. Tellingly, Trump offered only passing mention to his Monday announcement of a new Afghanistan strategy, and made little effort to sell his stalled plans to repeal and replace Obamacare or to reform the nation’s tax code. Trump expressed frustration that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has resisted his calls to eliminate the filibuster for legislation, and took swings at the lawmakers whose votes he needs for most of his agenda—and whose seats stand in the way of Democrats wielding subpoena power over his administration. Trump took thinly-veiled shots at Arizona’s two GOP senators, John McCain and Jeff Flake, who have been frequent critics. Although he avoided mentioning their names at the behest of Republican leaders in Washington, Trump’s targets could hardly have been clearer. He bemoaned being “one vote away” on replacing the Affordable Care Act before McCain’s no-vote. And he attacked Flake as someone “who’s weak on borders, who’s weak on crime.” One of Flake’s potential primary opponents, Arizona State Treasurer Jeff DeWit, flew with Trump Tuesday from Yuma to Phoenix aboard Air Force One. Trump, who met with border patrol officers earlier in the day, again promised to build a wall along the southern border—but conceded to officers’ calls for it to be transparent. And he laid out a clear marker that funding for it be included in any measure to fund the government in the coming fiscal year—a sticking point for lawmakers on Capitol Hill as Republicans are likely to need to win over Democratic votes to keep the government open. Trump, who has been considering a pardon for Arpaio, teased that one would soon be forthcoming for his criminal contempt of court conviction stemming from a racial profiling case. “I won’t do it tonight, because I don’t want to cause any controversy,” Trump said, after first polling the crowd how they felt about the disgraced law enforcement official, “but Sheriff Joe can feel good.” Less than a week into his Administration’s efforts to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, Trump signaled his pessimism on the talks with Canada and Mexico. “I think we’ll probably end up terminating NAFTA at some point,” he said. But Trump reserved his toughest—and longest—criticism for the media, devoting roughly 30 minutes to attacking the press, whom he accused of being disloyal. “I really think they don’t like our country,” he said, “I really believe it.” “The only people giving a platform to these hate groups is the media itself and the fake news,” the president added. Trump blasted the “failing” New York _Times_, accused the Washington _Post_ of being a lobbying front for owner Jeff Bezos’ Amazon, and mocked ABC News anchor George Stephanopolous’ height. Trump lamented CNN’s decision to fire pro-Trump contributor Jeffrey Lord after he tweeted “Sieg Heil!” in response to a critic. “They fired poor Jeffrey,” Trump said. It was an entirely superfluous defense, as presidents don’t typically take the time to defend the cable news pundits who defend them, much less ones who make such obvious mistakes. But Trump showed, as he did in the rest of his remarkable rally, that no slight was too small to ignore. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4911909/donald-trump-phoenix-rally/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4911909/donald-trump-phoenix-rally/"},"headline":"President Trump Goes on the Attack, Again","datePublished":"2017-08-23T05:07:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:07:18.708Z","description":"Just one day after a sober televised address on Afghanistan, President Trump returned to attack mode at a campaign rally in Arizona.","url":"https://time.com/4911909/donald-trump-phoenix-rally/","keywords":["Donald Trump","White House","Immigration","Arizona"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt624a637c46922314/6988dad38fd2eeeade35888d/trump-rally-phoenix.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt624a637c46922314/6988dad38fd2eeeade35888d/trump-rally-phoenix.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Trump Holds Rally In Phoenix, Arizona","caption":"President Trump Holds Rally In Phoenix, Arizona","creditText":"Ralph Freso—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4911909/donald-trump-phoenix-rally/","name":"President Trump Goes on the Attack, Again"}}]}] ```