A crowd gathered to see former President Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, this week in Phoenix, Ariz. During the event, nearly a dozen people were sent to the hospital due to extreme heat.
The “Chase Down the Vote” town hall was organized by Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA organization and held at Dream City Church. Much of Trump’s address was related to immigration and border security.
“Why would people want an open border?” he asked, before going on to criticize President Joe Biden’s immigration policies. This week, the Biden administration announced new actions restricting asylum for people who unlawfully cross the border.
“Phoenix Fire officials say 11 people attending the event were taken to hospitals after complaining of heat-related symptoms,” according to a report from Arizona’s Family. “Many attendees had been waiting outside the venue since the early morning hours, long before Phoenix hit 110 degrees around 1:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon.”
An excessive heat warning was in place for the Phoenix area Thursday, per the National Weather Service Phoenix X page. It offered tips for staying safe in the heat, both indoors and outdoors.
By Friday, Phoenix had broken a record for a highest low temperature of 87 degrees. It reached a high temperature of 113 degrees, just 2 degrees under its record. That’s around 11 degrees higher than typical temperatures.
Arizona is one of the states where a dangerous “heat dome” has settled, Audacy reported. This “heat dome” stretches from California to Texas and Las Vegas, Nev., also broke heat records this week.