CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas —
President Trump's visit to Corpus Christi began with rain and ended with sunshine.
The 47th President of the United States made his second pit stop this year to the Port of Corpus Christi on Tuesday.
Last time his focus was energy. This time? November's midterm elections.
"Let's go out and do what we do best, and that's win on November 3rd," Trump said. "We gotta win."
Here are some highlights from his address which lasted around 77 minutes.
Ken Paxton vs. James Talarico
Trump primarily focused on the Senate race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico. He said Talarico, who the President referred to as "Tala-Freak-O," would take away guns, oil, and meat from Texans if elected.
"I happen to think he [Talarico] was food poisoned by meat because he can't stand it," Trump said.
"You ever see him go to a barbecue and he's trying to show, 'I love the meat, ah, I love it, look, look,' and then you see him, where is he? He's behind the tent, puking," he added.
The President paused his speech to show a video compilation of Talarico talking about trans people.
"The only man standing between Texas and this raging lunatic is a man named President Donald J. Trump. And I need the help of Ken Paxton in the US Senate. I need a little help, please," Trump said after the video played.
The President even called Paxton to the stage during his address. Paxton said he has "never seen anyone work harder" referring to Trump.
When Paxton was done, Trump announced some relief could be on the way in the Hill Country.
"Thank you, Ken, and at the request of Ken Paxton and Senator Ted Cruz, I'm pleased to announce that I will be making available more FEMA relief funds from this year's floods in Texas Hill Country."
The President also said that everyone would receive $5,000 only if the Republicans kept control of the House and Senate after midterm elections.
The Port and oil production
President Trump opened with discussion of oil, the war in Iran, and the output from the Port of Corpus Christi.
"I'm also pleased to report that under our leadership, the Port of Corpus Christi just had its 9 busiest months in history," Trump said.
Trump suggested the Strait of Hormuz, which was responsible for roughly a quarter of the world's oil, could be renamed to the "Trump Strait."
"Your oil price, it's coming down, but your country is making an absolute fortune because of the situation in the Middle East. We're steering them all to Texas," he added.
This comes as the war in Iran approaches eight months, leading to higher gas and diesel prices.
"Your price is going to come down, but your country's making a fortune, and that's really good, right?" he said.
Trump said early on that Venezuela oil was sitting in a ship docked at the port.
"I'm thrilled to be here at the Port of Corpus Christi. And one of the many reasons we did it here, we have a little breaking news. You have a little ship. See that little ship out there?" Trump said while pointing to a ship docked at the port.
"It's got 1 million barrels of oil on it from Venezuela."
This was one of the more locally focused events of the rally. Trump continued to push the production and refinement of oil in places like Texas, Louisiana, and Alaska.
"We have more oil than any other country, even countries combined and it will be refined right here in Texas, including right here in Corpus Christi."
Why have a rally in Corpus Christi?
Trump gave some great insight as to why he held back-to-back rallies in Corpus Christi and Lubbock on the same day.
"For whatever reason.... we get a lot more votes when I'm on the ballot. They're the ones that told me that I didn't know. What the hell do I know? We get 49.2% more votes when I'm on the ballot, and we always win. But now I want you to pretend I'm on the ballot."
The campaign rally opened its gates at 10:30 in the morning. The line to see the sitting president was littered with umbrellas, rain gear, and plenty of red hats.
A volunteer told me that about 2,000 tickets were distributed. In fact, staff continued to set up barricades as the event went on to fit more people in the main area.
"We didn't want to miss it. It might be our last chance," Doug and Bobbi, two attendees at the event, told me.
Hats were sold for $47 dollars at the 'MAGA Merch' table, seemingly to match Trump as the 47th President of the United States.
"We want to make sure Texas stays Texas, we don't want the Islam to take over," Doug told me.
Trump brought along popular athletes like Heisman winning-Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel and Super Bowl champion Danny Amendola.
"They say these rallies have really energized [The Republican Party], you know, I've done 26 of them and every one of them is packed like this," Trump said.
There was a wide list of speakers before the President took the stage.
People who spoke at Trump's campaign rally
- Pastor Mike Fehlauer
- Todd Hunter
- Paul Perez
- Eric Flores
- Michael Cloud
- Monica De La Cruz
- Mayes Middleton
- Dan Patrick
- Ken Paxton
President Trump's closing remarks
President Trump closed his address by touting how much progress his administration has made. He emphasized the importance of Republicans voting to keep that progress moving forward.
"Together we will make America powerful again, wealthy again, healthy again, strong again, proud again, safe again, and most importantly, we will make America great again. God bless Texas. God bless you all."
The President did not address any ongoing water issues in Corpus Christi or the Coastal Bend.
After his final words, the song "Y.M.C.A." by the Village People played. Trump sauntered across the stage, giving the crowd his signature dance moves for a few moments before heading backstage.
The wave of red that entered a hangar along the Port of Corpus Christi left as quickly as they found their way inside.
There's no way of knowing whether or not Trump's Coastal Bend rally will give Republicans a better chance at the polls.
The only thing we know for sure? The rain was gone and the sun was shining as Air Force One left for its next stop.
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