President Trump held two rallies in Texas on Tuesday, campaigning for Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for Senate, and several House candidates, including Rep. Monica de la Cruz of South Texas.
The campaign halt in Corpus Christi and Lubbock comes as Republicans are trying to avoid their first statewide defeat in Texas in more than 30 years. CBS News considers race between Paxton and Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico A tosseven though Mr. Trump won Texas by more than 13 points two years ago.
Talarico holds rally near Lubbock.
During his visit to Lubbock, the president touted his record and used his familiar line to ask voters to “pretend I’m on the ballot.” He also encouraged voters who are on the fence about voting for Paxton: “Before you pull the trigger… take a look at your 401(k) plan.”
He also predicted the price of natural gas – the reason for the increase in gas prices is iran warto the dismay of many voters — will fall “very, very quickly.” But he noted that the Texas oil industry is doing well.
“We absolutely made a ton of money. More than ever before,” the president said. “Texas has never done numbers like this.”
Trump blasted Talarico and said if Democrats win control of the Senate, “I’m going to veto like crazy, okay? But I’d rather work on the positives than the negatives.”
The president also made a surprising off-the-cuff comment at a rally earlier this month, when he expressed surprise about Ohio Republican Sen. Jon Husted’s college football career, describing “checking him out” and “seeing it.”[ing] On his ass. “
“I made the mistake of saying I started with his butt,” Trump told a crowd in Lubbock on Tuesday, noting that he also praised other parts of Husted’s anatomy — his hands, feet and shoulders — and lamenting that the media “only covered the butt.”
Mr. Trump argued that jokes about Husted helped Ohioans win at the polls.
“Maybe I should do it with Ken Paxton, but I’m not sure your body qualifies,” he said.