Trump Texas rally live updates: Trump wishes Paxton was his AG - Houston Chronicle

Oct. 22, 2022Updated: Oct. 22, 2022 8:13 p.m.

Although Gov. Greg Abbott wasn’t successful Robstown for Trump’s rally, the erstwhile president was much than consenting to instrumentality a jab astatine Democrat Beto O’Rourke, calling the Democrat a “flake.”

"Seventeen days from present the radical of Texas are going to decision Beto O'Rourke," Trump said. "And we're going to support Greg Abbott, a fantastic man, a large man, a large governor."

Trump has a agelong past of taking jabs astatine O’Rourke. In 2018, helium held a rally successful Houston to assistance U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz against O’Rourke. At that halt Trump called O’Rourke a “stone-cold phony.”

Abbott said earlier this week that helium would not beryllium capable to beryllium successful country for the rally due to the fact that helium had a pre-planned fundraising lawsuit successful Florida that conflicted with Trump's schedule.

Trump connected Saturday called President Joe Biden and Democrats lunatics for not supporting lipid and state jobs much successful Texas.

“They’re against oil, God and guns, and past they accidental they’re going to bash good successful Texas,” Trump said. “I don’t deliberation so.”

O'Rourke's run was much than consenting to fto Trump run for Abbott successful Texas, releasing a fundraising entreaty to their supporters to effort to antagonistic the interaction of Trump. "Like Trump, Greg Abbott’s level is rooted successful fearmongering and scoring inexpensive governmental points by hurting Texans."

— Jeremy Wallace

Mexico much unsafe than Afghanistan?

Trump says Mexico is the "No. 1 astir unsafe" state successful the world, much unsafe than adjacent Afghanistan.

It's unclear wherever he's getting that statistic. According to the Global World Peace index, Mexico isn't adjacent successful the apical 20 astir unsafe countries: Afghanistan topped that list. Mexico was 27th retired of 163 countries reviewed.

— Jeremy Blackman

Trump wishes Ken Paxton was his AG

Trump said helium wished Paxton had worked with him successful the White House, saying Paxton would person “figured retired that elector fraud successful astir 2 minutes.”“I privation I had him arsenic lawyer general,” Trump said.

Paxton's unit spent 20,000 hours looking for elector fraud past year, focusing connected the 2020 elections, and didn't uncover thing beyond isolated incidents affecting a fistful of votes successful an predetermination successful which much than 11 cardinal Texans formed ballots.

— Benjamin Wermund

Trump: 'The Texas mode of beingness is nether siege"

Trump took the signifier soon earlier 7:30 p.m., tossing reddish shot hats retired into the assemblage arsenic American flags whipped successful the upwind down him. Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" blared from the soundsystem.

'What's happened to our state is simply a disgrace, but I'm gladsome to beryllium back… successful the large authorities of Texas," Trump said.

Moments later, Trump warned: "The Texas mode of beingness is nether siege"

— Jeremy Blackman

Patrick predicts a reddish 'tsunami'

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick got a bully roar from the assemblage by saying Texas is what the remainder of America utilized to be. "We emotion God. We emotion our families. We emotion our guns. We emotion girls being connected the sports teams, not boys. We emotion the fossil substance manufacture which is the heartbeat of America and Texas."

Patrick’s kicker: "There's not a reddish question coming. There's a tsunami coming."

— Jeremy Wallace

'Whoever votes for Beto' won't ballot for me

ROBSTOWN — Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, speaking up of Trump, urged the assemblage successful Robstown to enactment GOP candidates up and down the ballot, singling retired a fistful of section Republicans from the Corpus Christi area.

Among the Patrick-promoted candidates was Adam Hinojosa, the GOP nominee successful an unfastened contention for the authorities Senate spot held by retiring Democrat Eddie Lucio, Jr.

As lieutenant governor, Patrick presides implicit the 31-member Senate, wherever helium is hoping to grow Republicans’ existent 18-13 advantage.

Patrick besides predicted determination would beryllium fewer midterm voters who divided their tickets by voting for a premix of Democratic and Republican statewide candidates.

“Whoever votes for Beto surely isn’t crossing implicit to ballot for me. We person thing successful common,” Patrick said. “So everyone who votes for Beto votes against me, votes against Ken Paxton, and each the mode down the ballot. That’s wherefore it is truthful important to get everyone you cognize to ballot each Republican each the mode down the ballot.”

For decades, Texas voters could cheque a azygous container to automatically ballot for each campaigner connected the ballot from their preferred party, a signifier known arsenic straight-ticket voting. Lawmakers removed the enactment starting with the 2020 election, giving down-ballot candidates much power implicit their destiny than before.

— Jasper Scherer

Sending Trump to a plaything district?

Political experts this week pointed retired that Nueces County, wherever Trump is appearing, is an unusual prime and wherefore galore Republicans successful adjacent races may not privation to beryllium anyplace adjacent him astatine tonight’s rally.

Nueces County is arsenic purple arsenic you get successful Texas authorities of late. In 2016 the region narrowly went for Trump, but successful 2018 Democrat Beto O’Rourke won there. Then successful 2020 it swung backmost to Trump, narrowly.

And speech astir contention for the crowd’s attention. When Trump takes the signifier astatine 7 p.m., the Astros-Yankees crippled could beryllium successful 8th oregon 9th inning, the San Antonio Spurs volition beryllium precocious successful their crippled and the Texas A&M shot crippled volition person conscionable kicked off.

— Jeremy Wallace

Nueces GOP seat says rally volition assistance GOTV

It's nary coincidence that Trump chose Nueces County to talk tonight. The metropolis of Corpus Christi is 1 of the past municipality strongholds for Republicans successful the state, and it's been inching toward the Democrats successful caller elections. If the GOP wants to bash good connected Nov. 8, they'll request a beardown showing there.

For grounds of that, Nueces County GOP enactment seat Barbie Baker pointed to the afloat database of Texas Republicans scheduled to plaything into municipality successful the coming days, including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Gov. Greg Abbott and authorities Sen. Dawn Buckingham, who's moving for onshore commissioner. That's connected apical of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Attorney General Ken Paxton and respective legislature candidates appearing contiguous successful beforehand of Trump.

 "What that says is, Nueces County's dependable is important," Baker said. "And that's what we support pushing and telling people."

— Jeremy Blackman

Trump inactive hasn't paid  El Paso for 2019 rally

As erstwhile President Donald Trump prepares to talk contiguous adjacent Corpus Christi, helium still hasn't paid back the metropolis of El Paso the much than $500,000 helium owes for hosting his 2019 rally there, a metropolis spokeswoman confirmed. 

The billionaire erstwhile president, whose governmental warfare thorax boasts good implicit $100,000,000, owes the metropolis $569,204 for transportation, information and a 21-percent precocious fee. In 2020, the metropolis hired a instrumentality steadfast to effort to collect, the metropolis spokeswoman said, but truthful acold $0 has been collected.

— Edward McKinley

No F-bombs connected T-shirts allowed

A information defender was shown connected a livestream asking Trump supporters waiting to get successful not to deterioration shirts with profanity connected them.“I recognize they merchantability them here,” helium said.

Twitter

“But if they person thing that you would not deterioration to your grandmother’s house, delight refrain from wearing them inside, due to the fact that we are amended than that and we are going to look amended than that.”

— Benjamin Wermund

'The belly of the beast'

ROBSTOWN — A dependable travel of Trump supporters poured into the Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds connected Saturday day for president Donald Trump’s rally present conscionable westbound of Corpus Christi, held days earlier the commencement of aboriginal voting.

By 4 p.m., erstwhile a slate of Republican candidates and officials began speaking, the venue was filled with Trump voters donning the erstwhile president’s trademark reddish run hats and T-shirts with messages specified arsenic “Jesus is my savior, Trump is my president.”

*NSYNC and AC/DC blared arsenic the assemblage filed into bleacher-style seats surrounding the podium wherever Trump volition talk aboriginal this evening.

Bianca Gracia, a Robstown autochthonal and president of the Latinos for Trump group, said Trump’s rally present is, by far, the biggest Republican run lawsuit she had seen successful her hometown — an country historically dominated by Democrats.

"We've ne'er had thing similar this here, ever," Gracia said. "It's astonishing to spot each the Latinos and Hispanics, Tejanos, retired here. This is what it's about. When you spell and bash outreach and engagement — and that's what President Trump understands — you've spell to the belly of the beast and you speech to radical astir anticipation and faith."

BACKGROUND: Trump is definite to occurrence up GOP diehards during Texas visit, but astatine what cost?

Trump’s Nueces County sojourn marks his eighth travel to Texas since helium near bureau successful January 2021. He past visited the authorities successful May for the NRA’s yearly gathering successful Houston.

Saturday’s rally is astir a 20-mile thrust from the borderline of 2 South Texas legislature districts being targeted by Republicans, who are bullish connected their chances of competing successful historically Democratic South Texas.

They are astir optimistic astir Texas’ 15th Congressional District, wherever Republican nominee Monica De La Cruz had much than doubled the fundraising full of her Democratic opponent, Michelle Vallejo, done the extremity of September.

Anchored successful Hidalgo County, the territory stretches from McAllen each the mode northbound to Guadalupe and Wilson counties, cutting done a agelong sliver of mostly agrarian Texas. The GOP-controlled Legislature redrew the territory past twelvemonth to favour Republicans.

Texas Democrats person complained precocious that the nationalist enactment appeared to beryllium pulling resources from the territory arsenic astir nationalist Democratic run groups person prioritized the re-election bids of incumbents successful South Texas, U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar of Laredo and Vicente Gonzalez of McAllen.

Gonzalez, a Democrat who switched districts aft narrowly defeating De La Cruz successful 2020, is looking to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores successful Texas’ 34th Congressional District, which she flipped successful a peculiar predetermination earlier this year.

Flores and De La Cruz were not scheduled to talk astatine the rally, though they some delivered little pre-recorded remarks that were broadcast connected a ample video screen.

— Jasper Scherer

18 Trump visits to Texas arsenic president

Trump is holding the rally successful Robstown, conscionable extracurricular of Corpus Christi, his archetypal travel backmost to Texas since speaking that the NRA’s yearly gathering successful Houston successful May. Trump past held a Texas rally successful Montgomery County successful January.

During his tenure successful the White House, Texas was 1 of Trump’s astir predominant destinations. He made 18 visits to Texas implicit 4 years — 1 of the 9 astir visited states during his presidency.

UNPAID BILLS: Trump's 2019 El Paso rally outgo the metropolis astir $500k. He inactive hasn't paid.

He has astir often visited Houston and Dallas, which person seen him 8 times each since the commencement of 2017.

His archetypal travel to Texas arsenic president was aft Hurricane Harvey successful 2017 erstwhile helium archetypal traveled to Corpus Christi to measure harm successful adjacent Rockport and surrounding communities.

— Jeremy Wallace