Donald Trump Jr. hit the campaign trail on Wednesday to stump for U.S. Senator Ted Cruz in Conroe, a deep red suburb about an hour north of Houston. Over 2,500 enthusiastic Cruz supporters packed into the Lone Star Convention Center for an energetic rally.
“I get to spend a lot of time in Texas,” said Trump. “Most of that is during deer season.”
Addressing the contentious 2016 primary between Cruz and his father, Trump told the crowd that they were working together well now to advance the conservative agenda:
“Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Ted Cruz and my father had very rough primary. But the reason I’m here today is to speak about the character of Ted Cruz the man … He put that all aside to represent the state of Texas … That took guts.”
Trump recounted the policy successes of his father’s administration, including tax cuts, the dismantling of job killing regulations, and accomplishments in foreign policy.
“It’s all on the ticket in November,” he said.
Cruz then took the stage, drawing a clear contrast between his own accomplishments and the far left agenda of his opponent Rep. Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke (D-El Paso) on issues such as tax cuts, immigration, Obamacare, gun rights, Israel, and the Supreme Court.
“There’s no race in the country with a greater divide between the records, and vision, and agenda of the two candidates than the U.S. Senate race here in Texas.”
Cruz eviscerated O’Rourke’s record, going all the way back to his days on the El Paso City Council, where he voted to raise property taxes. “He also voted for something called a rain tax,” said Cruz. “What the heck is a rain tax?”
While Cruz observed that Texas is a conservative state, he believes that this race will come down to turnout; and the Democrat base is motivated. “Hate is a powerful motivator,” said Trump.
But Cruz is optimistic. “If there’s one thing that I have deep and profound faith in, it’s that the people of Texas, when our liberty is threatened, will say, ‘come and take it.’”
