tiny from House Democrats conducting an impeachment inquiry -- and a week after chaos and violence broke out at a Trump rally in Democratic-leaning Minnesota.
A
massive crowd of approximately 30,000 gathered outside the American
Airlines Center to watch the speech on a large screen, as the president
launched into an extended critique of 2020 Democratic presidential
candidates. He derided former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke as "very dumb"
for pushing to confiscate guns and tax religious institutions, and
remarked that Joe Biden's family overtly profited from his political
career.
"Last week, a very dumb Democrat candidate for president
-- that's the end of him in this state -- pledged to revoke the
tax-exempt status of many churches and religious charities," Trump said,
as boos rocked the arena. "And by the way, that was after, a few weeks
ago, he said, 'Excuse me, we're gonna take your guns away.' ... The
flailer. You remember he was flailing all over the place?"
It was a marked difference from the bedlam on the streets during Trump's speech last week in Minneapolis, when left-wing activists were recorded attacking Trump supporters on video. A Trump-supporting woman leaving that rally was hit in the face on camera.
A
brief security episode as Trump spoke was quickly resolved. Dallas
officers assigned to the rally said they were "made aware of an adult
male wearing body armor" outside the arena, and that "officers located
the individual observing that he was also armed." The man, who was
licensed to carry a firearm, was transported to a local hospital for
evaluation without incident, investigators said.
Meanwhile, after
Trump tweeted a video showing long lines to enter the American Airlines
Center just before he took the stage, actor Tom Arnold responded with an
apparent threat: "Don't get too cocky traitor. They showed up for JFK
too."
Inside the arena, Trump kept the focus on his presidential
rivals, as well as the plummeting unemployment and poverty rates for
various demographic groups.
"Last month, unemployment reached its
lowest level in 51 years," Trump said to applause. "1.3 million children
have been lifted out of poverty -- think of that. And,
African-American, Hispanic American and Asian American unemployment
rates have reached the lowest levels in history. Our great Hispanic
American population has reached a poverty level which is an all-time low
in U.S. history. ... The median income for Hispanic Americans has
surpassed $50,000 a year for the first time ever."
While Democrats
wanted to raise taxes, Trump said, Republicans "ended the war on a
thing called American energy, which is very good for Texas. Since my
election, natural gas production in Texas has increased by 35 percent,
and oil production has increased by 60 percent. And the United States is
now the number-one producer of oil and natural gas anywhere in the
world!"
Trump
added: "Yet every major Democratic candidate running for president
wants to abolish all production of oil and natural gas. I think they
want to go to windmills. 'Darling, I want to watch Trump tonight'; 'You
can't, darling. The wind isn't blowing.' In other words, they want to
annihilate our Texas economy."
The rally came at a critical time
for Trump, whose dealings with the president of Ukraine have been the
subject of a quickly unfolding impeachment inquiry run by House
Democrats. Perry
was subpoenaed earlier Thursday by House committees conducting the probe.
President Donald Trump taking the stage for the rally at American
Airlines Arena in Dallas on Thursday. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Republicans have raised concerns that they might take
a historic beating in Texas in 2020, as more suburban voters have
balked at the president. Trump carried the longtime Republican
stronghold and its 38 Electoral College votes by only 9 points in 2016
-- down from Mitt Romney's 15-point win in 2012.
Trump recounted
his win in Texas during the rally, as well as his debate preparation in
the primary against college debate champion and Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz.
"I
hired a debate coach, and he lasted about 10 minutes -- I said, 'This
guy knows less than I do.' He didn't know anything, it's true. He said,
'Never, ever interrupt if they're speaking.' I said, 'OK coach, put me
in, coach.' I mean, you can't beat Ted Cruz if you don't interrupt him.
It's impossible.
"I said, to my wife, first lady, potentially, I
said, 'I got a problem,'" Trump recounted. "'Some of these guys are OK,
they were only president of the class. ... I liked playing baseball
better. But I said, Melania, and I called Ivanka, my kids -- I said, 'I
got a problem. Ted Cruz was the national debate -- the number-one guy in
college. He was the number-one guy in law school. How the hell do I
beat a guy who's that good at debating?' But we came out OK, Ted. Ted
was tough -- smart as hell, and tough."
In a shot at Democrats a
day after their most recent presidential primary debate, Trump remarked,
"In recent debates, you see these people up there, they're not Ted
Cruz, believe me. Hey Ted, you should turn Democrat, you would win.
Every single Democrat candidate for president raised their hands in
favor of giving health care to all illegal aliens."
The White
House has emphasized Democrats' historic leftward push, and Trump also
hammered that theme at Thursday's rally -- saying Democrats wanted to
"eviscerate" not only Medicare, but also babies just prior to their
birth.
"They want to impose an extreme agenda," Trump said,
referring to the field of Democrats seeking the White House. "They
cannot pass it, and they cannot win it at the ballot box -- they're not
going to win. They won't come close in 2020. They know it."
He
continued: "They want to tear down symbols of faith and drive Christians
and religious believers from the public square. They want to silence
your voices on social media, and they want the government to censor,
muzzle and shut down conservative voices -- you know that."
Democrats,
though, have pointed to demographic trends as well as the fact that
Cruz won reelection by just over 2 points last year as evidence that the
second-most-populous state could soon be in play.
The line to enter the campaign rally for President Trump forming
outside the American Airlines Center on Thursday in Dallas. (AP
Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)
“I expect President Trump to win Texas by 5
percentage points, not 9 points this time,” Southern Methodist
University political science professor Cal Jillson told
Politico. “There are long-term demographic changes taking place in the
state that eat into Republican support. The major cities like Austin,
Houston and Dallas are already leaning blue. Plus, his Republican
coalition has been destabilized by his own actions and conduct."
At
the same time, Trump's campaign and the RNC have been raking in money,
raising a record $125 million in the third quarter of this year. By
comparison, former President Obama and the Democratic National Committee
(DNC) raised just over $70 million in the third quarter of 2011 for his
reelection campaign.
The RNC raised a record-setting $27.3
million just last month and had $59.2 million cash as of the end of
August, amid the impeachment push against the president -- which has
fueled GOP campaign contributions heading into the 2020 election.
This
cycle, to date, the RNC has more than doubled the DNC's fundraising
efforts, according to the GOP, which also noted that the Democrats, as
of last month, carried $7.3 million in debt.
The campaign
continued to haul in cash Thursday. Trump began his trip at a fundraiser
in Fort Worth that raised about $5.5 million for Trump Victory, a joint
fundraising committee benefiting the Trump campaign and the Republican
National Committee. Looking to promote new jobs, Trump then toured the
recently built Louis Vuitton plant in Alvarado with his daughter and
senior adviser Ivanka Trump.
"I've seen that before," Trump told his tour guides while pointing to one of the iconic bags set up on a table.
While
Republicans largely have defended Trump, they have sounded alarms over
his decision to pull U.S. troops out of northern Syria — a move that
paved the way for Turkey to invade and assault the Kurds, who'd fought
alongside the U.S. in its campaign against Islamic State militants.
Upon
landing in Texas on Thursday, Trump credited his threat of sanctions on
Turkey and the violence that has unfolded for the announcement of a
cease-fire, though critics said Trump green-lit the incursion and put
the Kurdish forces in danger by announcing a U.S. troop withdrawal.
A sea of red hats as supporters of President Trump lined up to
enter the campaign rally on Thursday in Dallas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey
McWhorter)
Trump described the cease-fire as an "incredible
outcome" that could not have occurred "unless you went somewhat
unconventional."
A White House meeting between Trump and congressional lawmakers to discuss the situation Wednesday devolved into an insult-fest,
with the president calling House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., a
"third-grade politician," and Pelosi and other top Democrats storming
out.
A senior aide for the Democrats told Fox News that Trump
began the meeting, which ostensibly had been called by the White House,
by remarking that "someone wanted this meeting so I agreed to it." Trump
also was said to have told Pelosi, "I hate ISIS more than you do,"
prompting Pelosi to respond, "You don't know that."
Trump and Pelosi continued to trade jabs after the meeting, with each accusing the other of having a meltdown.
As the Democrats walked out, Trump reportedly remarked, "I'll see you at the polls."
Fox News' Lissa Kaplan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.