Donald Trump’s latest campaign rally was rocked by repeated protests on Wednesday as the US president urged Texas voters to support embattled Senate candidate Ken Paxton.
At least half a dozen protesters interrupted the US president during his speech in San Antonio, with some being taken away by police. One was physically attacked by an older Trump supporter as he tried to leave the arena.
Trump briefly walked away from the microphone after a protester appeared to approach the stage. “He’s going home to mom,” the president said after the man’s expulsion. “But what he doesn’t know is that his mother voted for Trump.”
Supporters waving cowboy hats and chanting “USA” drowned out some demonstrators, while Trump told demonstrators to “get the hell out of here.” He mocked their appearance and claimed without evidence that “they are paid by the enemies of our nation.”
The president also used Wednesday’s rally to respond to recent comments in which he appeared to suggest Iran could destroy Los Angeles or San Diego, drawing widespread condemnation from Democrats.
In remarks once again far from clear, Trump said: “I said it the other day, let them hit a missile on San Diego or Los Angeles on the way. Let them hit – you want to see a horror show? You want to see trouble? Let them hit San Diego. Let them hit Los Angeles and you want to see bad things happen.”
“You want to see a country in free fall. We’re not going to let that happen. We protect our cities, we protect our country, we don’t let that happen. And they would use it too. They would use it.”
Trump was making his third trip to Texas in less than a month as Republicans pour money into elections they hoped to win comfortably in November’s midterm elections.
Paxton, whom Trump supported in the Republican primary after turning against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, was called on stage by the president and thanked him for his support.
“Mr. President, I want to thank you for coming for me, for coming for us and for coming for Texas,” Paxton said. “We’re going to win this race.”
Trump described Paxton as “perhaps the greatest attorney general in the United States of America” and said, “He was tough and he was with us all the way.” He’s a fantastic man. »
The Republican campaign to maintain control of the Senate is increasingly focused on Texas, where Democrat James Talarico emerges as a serious threat. A New York Times/Siena College poll released last weekend showed Talarico leading Paxton 51% to 45% among likely voters. Texas has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1988.
Trump won the state by nearly 14 percentage points in 2024, but his approval rating has fallen sharply. A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Monday put his approval rating at 32%, while registered voters favor Democrats over Republicans between 44 and 37%.
The relationship between Trump and Paxton has seemed rocky at times. Trump called Paxton “a pain in the ass sometimes” last week, but on Wednesday did not discuss a leaked recording of Paxton in which the Senate candidate allegedly complained about the war in Iran, rising fuel prices and the way his campaign was being run.
Instead, he spent much of the rally attacking Talarico, whom he repeatedly referred to as “Tala-freako.” He claimed without evidence that Talarico was vegan and had recently disappeared: “He is sick because he was forced to eat meat for political reasons and he vomits everywhere.” »
Trump insisted: “The people of Texas will not let weak, gutless, hateful, transgender-promoting freak shows destroy everything we’ve built.” »
The president’s political difficulties in Texas were underscored by the absence of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, a close Trump ally who himself faces a re-election race against Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa.
Abbott was instead scheduled to attend the grand opening of a hospital about 330 miles away. Democrats seized on his decision not to appear with Trump.
Republicans have now spent more than $300 million on elections in Texas, according to the Associated Press, while Trump’s broader 32-day election campaign has taken him through several Republican-leaning states, including Oklahoma, Alabama, Ohio and Nebraska.
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