Trump rallies Turning Point USA voters in Phoenix ahead of midterms

The Strait of Hormuz was back open to commercial shipping as Donald Trump arrived in Phoenix to turn a fast-moving foreign policy claim into campaign energy. Trump and Iranian officials both said the chokepoint was open again after a 10-day truce tied to the conflict in Lebanon, oil prices dropped about 9%, and Trump said the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ships and ports would stay in force until a broader deal is reached.

The stakes were immediate. About one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies move through the strait, making any disruption a market event as well as a military one. Iranian officials said vessel movement would still be subject to Iranian coordination and routes, underscoring that the reopening came with conditions even as commercial traffic resumed and energy markets quickly priced in relief.

Trump folded that foreign policy message into a rally for Turning Point USA at Dream City Church in north Phoenix, where the main auditorium seats more than 4,500 people. The appearance was designed to help Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, with Arizona’s 1st, 2nd and 5th congressional districts all seen as vulnerable as Democrats look to chip away at GOP control in the state.

Erika Kirk introduced Trump at the event and urged young conservatives to “fortify the red wall” in battleground states including Arizona, Nevada and New Hampshire. Turning Point USA, the Phoenix-based right-wing activist organization founded by Charlie Kirk, has become a central force in conservative youth politics, and the Phoenix rally was another effort to turn that network into turnout power.

Kirk’s appearance carried added weight after she skipped a similar Turning Point event earlier in the week featuring Vice President JD Vance because of unspecified security threats. Her introduction linked the organization’s campus-style activism to a broader Republican turnout strategy, with Arizona at the center of the fight and the midterm map still unsettled.

Trump pressed the same argument from the stage, trying to make the case that Republicans should not lose seats while, in his words, the administration is “ending wars all over the place.” He also touted tax deductions, mixing economic incentives with the foreign policy storyline as he worked to convert a regional security development into a domestic political advantage.