CORPUS CHRISTI, Tex. — President Donald Trump arrived here Friday afternoon to tout his energy policies, against the backdrop of the nation’s largest ports for crude oil and liquefied natural gas.
Wearing a hat that read “Gulf of America,” he glanced out onto the waters and claimed, “360,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude are sitting in the tanker on my left.” The crowd burst into applause.
But hanging over Trump’s first trip since his State of the Union address was one of this young midterm cycle’s more unique political moments: The party’s kingmaker was holding court just days before a competitive GOP primary in which he has chosen no candidate to crown. All three leading Republican candidates were here, “Apprentice”-style, in a staging befitting of the former reality-television host.
Asked by reporters whether he had decided which candidate to endorse, Trump said, “Pretty much, yeah.”
Asked whether he would reveal the pick, he responded, “No.”
It is notable that he is not endorsing Sen. John Cornyn, an incumbent seeking a fifth term who joined Trump in flying here on Air Force One. Cornyn posted several photos of himself on board, including one with him at one end of a conference table and Trump at the other, in a not-so-subtle way to distinguish him from his closest rivals in the competitive race, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt.
“I like all three of them, actually,” Trump told reporters earlier this month. “Those are the toughest races. They’ve all supported me. They’re all good. You’re supposed to pick one, so we’ll see what happens. But I support all three.”
Trump largely avoided wading into the primary, only briefly acknowledging it during his remarks.
“We have a great attorney general, Ken Paxton — Hi, Ken!” he said. “And we have a great senator, John Cornyn — Hi, John.”
He said the two are engaged in “a little bit of a race. Going to be an interesting one, right?” “They’re both great people, too. Thank you both very much. We appreciate it,” he added.
The purpose of the trip was to tout his energy policies, continue trying to convince voters that the economy is booming, and make a pointed case that “Drill, baby, drill!” is driving gas prices down. He pointed to a tanker he said had carried oil from Venezuela. He also escalated his rhetoric against Iranian negotiators, but said he was not concerned about the risk of higher oil prices if he authorizes strikes on Iran.
Trump also briefly called out to recognize Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), who is facing calls to resign over allegations that he had an affair with a staff member who later died after lighting herself on fire. Looking to the crowd, Trump also said that he would consider naming Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to the Supreme Court.
All three GOP Senate candidates have been trying to showcase their close ties, personally and ideologically, to Trump, whose influence within his party remains unmatched and who has repeatedly shown his ability to lift allies and punish enemies. They are running ads with photos of them with Trump. They tout how often they vote with Trump and how vigorously they support him.
Polls have been close between Paxton and Cornyn, with Hunt running behind them. If none of the candidates gets 50 percent, it will head to a runoff on May 26.
The party of a sitting president often faces stiff headwinds. Republicans are worried they could lose House and Senate majorities, and Democrats are hoping to capitalize on Trump’s low approval ratings to provide a robust check on his power.
For a president who prizes loyalty, that has made it more complicated for him to weigh in, even though Senate Republican leaders have urged him to endorse Cornyn, the candidate they view as best positioned in a general election.
“It is a strong possibility we cannot hold Texas if John Cornyn is not our nominee,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, recently told Fox News.
Democrats also have a vigorously fought primary between state Rep. James Talarico, who talks openly about his faith and quotes the Bible and has maintained a viral social media presence, and Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a progressive candidate whose plainspoken and partisan congressional battles have also produced viral clips.
Some Republicans have fretted about the energy on the Democratic side and are already expressing the importance of coming together after their own bitter primary.
“This is not a battle of Republicans and Democrats anymore … this is a battle of darkness and light,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) told the crowd here. “The primaries are where we have our arguments … but we will not let the Democrats turn Texas blue in November.”
Edward Gassman, a politically active Republican from Corpus Christi, said he thought Cornyn stood the best chance against a Democrat but viewed it as wise for Trump to remain out of this intraparty fight. He compared it to elections when he also has to choose between friends and opts not to vote for any of them.
“It’s good politics,” he said. “Sometimes you’ve got to keep the peace. You don’t want to burn any bridges.”
Ahead of the trip, White House officials distributed statistics touting how gas prices were lower and oil production was up. They noted that online tracker gasbuddy.com had posted prices in Corpus Christi for as low as $2.29 per gallon. Signs around the stage here read, “American Energy Dominance.”
Trump’s advisers have urged him in recent months to focus on the plight of struggling Americans and to express empathy for their hardships. But with the stock market at record highs, stronger-than-expected January jobs numbers and easing prices for gas, groceries and housing, Trump’s triumphant posture has prevailed.
“If I ran for the mayor of Corpus Christi, would I win?” Trump asked. “What the hell, I looked at your job stats. You’ve done very well with Trump.”
“A lot of happy people,” he added later. “It’s nice to be loved. It’s nice to be loved.”
He paused to ask whether those in the crowd watched his State of the Union address, triggering chants of “USA! USA! USA!”
“Did you see those people on my right the way they just sat there,” he said, referring to the Democratic side of the aisle as he mentioned Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota). “How about Omar screaming? Screaming like a lunatic. You looked at her bulging eyes, she’s crazy. Get her the hell out of here!”
He again teased the idea of running for an unconstitutional third term — “We’re entitled to it because they cheated like hell in the second one,” he said — and then boasted of lower prices.
“Prices of almost everything is down,” he said, before saying Democrats have no right to criticize current costs.
“They came up with a word: Affordability,” he said. “I said, what are they talking about? They’re the ones that caused it. They’re cons. They’re liars.”
After many in the crowd indicated they had 401(k) investment accounts, he recounted hearing from a police officer whose wife thought he was financially wise because of his retirement account.
“‘It’s given me a tremendous boost in life,’” Trump claimed the man told him. “My wife treated me like a dog and now she thinks I’m a financial genius.’”
He ridiculed his predecessor, Joe Biden, and elicited boos at the mention of “Barack Hussein Obama,” before returning to the importance of the elections ahead.
“This is the golden age of America. … You’re going to be reading about this in 100 years,” he said earlier in the speech. “We’ve got to keep it going. We’ve got to win the midterms.”
On his way out of town, he stopped at a Whataburger fast-food restaurant, called out, “Hamburgers for all!” and grabbed a to-go bag for the flight on Air Force One.
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