With the midterm elections 17 days away, former President Donald Trump appeared at a Texas rally to gain support for Republicans candidates. It marked Trump’s first public appearance since his subpoena was served on Friday by the Jan. 6 House Select Committee.
Trump flew into Texas on his newly refurbished Boeing 757, coined “Trump Force One.” Minutes later he emerged onto the stage in the Corpus Christ suburb of Robstown to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” pumping his fists and tossing out “MAGA” hats to rallygoers. At one point, members of the crowd interrupted Trump and began singing the national anthem which he called, “beautiful.”
While on stage Trump disputed the several investigations against him and made several remarks regarding the Jan. 6 committee, which he has termed the “unselect committee.” He did not comment on whether he would comply with the subpoena and testify before the Jan. 6 committee.
Trump has been subpoenaed for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The unanimous decision by the Democratic-led panel was in a letter to the former president. The subpoena demanded that Trump submit documentary material by Nov. 4 and be deposed under oath around Nov. 14.
“In short, you were at the center of the first and only effort by any U.S. President to overturn an election and obstruct the peaceful transition of power, ultimately culminating in a bloody attack on our own Capitol and on the Congress itself,” the committee wrote.
Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, Vice Chair of the committee, has also stated that Trump is “the one person at the center” of the Jan 6. attacks.
Despite the increasing tension of the Jan. 6 committee’s investigations, Trump spent a significant amount of time discussing the “Russia hoax,” doubling down on previous threats to sue the Pulitzer Prize board for its awarding of 2016 Russian interference reporting.
“By allowing these people that got ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ wrong, they’re actually libeling me because they’re saying they got it right,” Trump said at the rally.
In his almost two-hour speech, Trump addressed immigration, a top issue among Texans and Republicans alike. In his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump made a border wall one of his signature promises.
“We have immigrants coming in. It’s like an army,” Trump said. “They are storming our country. They are storming our borders.”
The “Save America Rally” included Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tom Homan. Cassy Garcia, who is currently battling incumbent Democrat Henry Cuellar for Texas’ 28th Congressional district, also appeared at the rally.
While Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was not present at the rally, Trump made several quips against his Democratic opponent Beto O’Rourke, who ran unsuccessfully in 2018 to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz. Trump repeated a past comment about O’Rourke as a “flake” and also said the former congressman was “against God, guns and oil.”
O’Rourke’s campaign said Trump was in Texas to promote “extremist candidates” like Abbott.
Trump called Abbott “a wonderful man” and commented, “If you support the decline and fall of our country then vote for the radical left Democrats!”
Republicans are hoping for a “red wave” on Nov. 8 to potentially regain Congress. Trump has hinted at a 2024 presidential run, saying in the rally that he “will probably have to do it again.”
