President Donald Trump told supporters at a rally in Bullhead City, Arizona, on Wednesday that individuals who leak government information to journalists should face the harshest possible consequences, veering from his midterm election pitch into an extended attack on media leaks and coverage of the Iran war.
Speaking at Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport, Trump said leakers were damaging national security and described them in sharply critical terms. He recalled what he characterized as past practice toward leakers and urged that they be dealt with very strongly, according to reports from the event.
The president linked his remarks to what he described as a planned military operation involving American assets based in Missouri, saying that a leak of key details had forced him to reschedule the action. He did not identify the operation or offer evidence that a media disclosure had caused any change in military planning, and the Pentagon did not immediately comment on the claim.
The rally was officially a midterm campaign stop. With Election Day less than three weeks away, Trump appeared alongside Representative Andy Biggs, the Republican nominee for Arizona governor, and a slate of GOP candidates. He criticized Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs and urged the crowd to vote Republican from the top of the ticket to the bottom.
Trump also revisited his February State of the Union address, criticizing Democrats in Congress for what he described as their refusal to applaud during the speech. He recalled honoring retired Navy Captain E. Royce Williams, then 100 years old, with the Medal of Honor, and recognizing World War II veteran George Taggart, arguing that lawmakers across the aisle had failed to show respect.
At several points the president framed the midterms in sweeping terms, telling the Arizona crowd that Democrats would damage the country if they gained ground and declaring that America belongs to those who love it. He dedicated the push for victory in part to the memory of Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist.
The Arizona stop is one of a series of rallies Trump is holding in battleground states in the closing weeks of the campaign. Polls have shown tight races in several states, and both parties are pouring resources into turnout operations ahead of November 3.
Democrats did not immediately respond to the president's remarks about leakers. Press freedom advocates have previously condemned calls for prosecuting journalists' sources, arguing that leak investigations can chill reporting on matters of public interest.