Yvonne Wingett Sanchez

The Republic | azcentral.com

Donald Trump will make his first appearance in Arizona as the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee next week, The Arizona Republic has learned.

Trump is scheduled to hold a rally here on June 18 part of a cross-country campaign swing that includes Georgia, Texas, Nevada and Phoenix, according to information released Wednesday by Trump's campaign.

The location of the reality-TV star's rally -- his fourth as a candidate for the White House -- is yet to be determined. Event planners are scouting various locations that could accommodate more than 10,000 people on short-notice.

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Trump's return to Arizona comes as GOP leaders here and nationally struggle to unify the party behind a top-of-the-ticket candidate whose remarks about immigrants, Muslims and, most recently, a Hispanic judge have created a constant drumbeat of controversy.

Trump said last week that the U.S.-born judge overseeing a court case involving Trump University is biased against him because of his Mexican ancestry. On Tuesday, amid withering criticism, Trump said in a statement that his remarks were “misconstrued.”

Trump’s three previous Arizona campaign appearances have drawn thousands of supporters to largely peaceful gatherings where he delivered his populist pitch on topics from the economy to illegal immigration while extolling his standing in the polls.

Trump will likely be joined at next week's event by state Treasurer Jeff DeWit and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, both of whom pledged their support to Trump early in the campaign. Former Gov. Jan Brewer, whom Trump has suggested could make his vice-presidential short list, is also expected to appear with him, as well as state party Chairman Robert Graham, who is helping to organize the rally.

The top Republican state official, Gov. Doug Ducey, has been conspicuously absent from Trump’s prior appearances, but is now preaching GOP unity and is a delegate to this summer’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland where Trump will be officially declared the party’s nominee.

U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who has yet to endorse Trump and is not planning to attend the national convention, also probably won’t join Trump in Arizona.

“Put me down as unlikely,” Flake told The Republic on Tuesday after hearing about the planned event. “I’d like to see the context of it. I don’t see myself as appearing with him in a public forum.”

In early May, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who is running for re-election, said he would support the GOP nominee and did not rule out campaigning with Trump at some point.

"I think it would have to depend on the circumstances, but my focus is on my own campaign," McCain said.

Trump's first Arizona stop came in July, on the heels of comments he had made about Mexican immigrants — suggesting they were rapists and criminals. The rally drew thousands to the downtown Phoenix Convention Center for a raucous event, including dozens of protesters who gathered outside to condemn his remarks.

In December, he returned for a rally at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in the East Valley. That event was held in a hangar, where his plane, “Trump Force One,” served as a backdrop. He drew thunderous applause from the crowd when he repeated his vow to build a massive wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and kick out millions of undocumented immigrants.

In March, he spoke to a crowd of thousands in Fountain Hills ahead of the state’s presidential-preference election. He referred to them as a “loud, noisy majority.”

Republic reporter Dan Nowicki contributed to this article.