President Trump held two rallies in Texas on Tuesday to campaign for Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for Senate, and several House candidates, including Rep. Monica De La Cruz in South Texas.
The campaign stops in Corpus Christi and Lubbock came as Republicans fight to stave off their first statewide loss in Texas in more than 30 years. CBS News considers the race between Paxton and Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico a toss-up, even though Mr. Trump won Texas by more than 13 points two years ago.
Talarico held a rally nearby in Lubbock.
During his visit to Lubbock, the president touted his record and offered his familiar refrain for 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)’s.”
He also predicted gas prices — which are elevated due to the Iran war, frustrating many voters — will come down “very, very rapidly.” But he noted that Texas’ oil industry has performed well.
“We are making an absolute fortune. More than we ever have,” the president said. “Texas has never, ever done numbers like this.”
Mr. Trump railed against Talarico and said if Democrats win control of the Senate, “I’ll be vetoing like crazy, OK? But I’d rather work from the positive side as opposed to the negative side.”
The president also defended an eyebrow-raising riff at a rally earlier this month, when he marveled at Republican Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio’s college football career, and described “examining his body” and “look[ing] at his ass.”
“I made the mistake of saying that I started off by studying his ass,” Mr. Trump told the crowd in Lubbock on Tuesday, noting that he also complimented other parts of Husted’s anatomy — his hands, feet and shoulders — and lamenting that media outlets “only covered the ass part.”
Mr. Trump argued the joke about Husted helped the Ohioan in the polls.
“Maybe I should do that with Ken Paxton, but I’m not sure your body is gonna qualify,” he said.
