President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr. arrived in Texas on Wednesday to campaign for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), telling an audience that Cruz has become a valuable ally for his father.
The pair appeared together on Oct. 3 at a rally in Conroe, with Trump Jr. speaking for about 20 minutes.
Trump Jr. told the crowd that the rivalry between the president and Cruz during the 2016 presidential election is over and behind them, urging Texans to vote.
Trump said people should act as though President Trump were on the ballot.
“All of the accomplishments that are getting checked off one by one, there’s a lot left,” Trump told the crowd, reported ABC 13. “And we need guys like Ted Cruz. We need guys like the members of the House in Texas. We need them in there with us. You can’t just be excited by (President) Trump because he can’t do it alone.”
President Trump made the same point at his rally on Oct. 2 in Mississippi, telling people, “I’m not on the ticket. But I am on the ticket because this is also a referendum about me. I want you to vote. Pretend I’m on the ballot. And don’t worry, we’ll be on the ballot in two years, and we will do a landslide again.”
Heaping praise on Ted Cruz as a close ally of the president, Donald Trump Jr. said the Texas senator "put aside any of those differences" from the 2016 campaign and has worked closely with Pres. Trump. https://t.co/UYWVqTDyHS pic.twitter.com/b8cXWDzpST
— ABC News (@ABC) October 3, 2018
‘We are getting everything we wanted’
In Texas, Trump Jr. said that Republicans are getting things done and want to continue doing so.
“We are getting everything we wanted, checklist after checklist, so we are getting a little fat and lazy. The other side is motivated by nothing but hate,” Trump added, reported the Austin American Statesman. “Hate is a powerful motivator. That’s why we need a stalwart like Ted.”
Neither Trump nor Cruz addressed the confirmation battle over Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh until the crowd started to chant, “Confirm Kavanaugh!” Cruz assured them, “We’re gonna.”
The Kavanaugh issue has bolstered enthusiasm among Republicans and led to better poll numbers in a number of races. The latest poll on Cruz’s race, from Quinnipiac, was published on Sept. 25, amid the confirmation drama, and showed him with a 54-45 margin over challenger Rep. Beto O’Rourke.
Donald Trump Jr. fires up Ted Cruz supporters in Conroe https://t.co/mPLOBAiHoF pic.twitter.com/PZ9AhgYwr3
— ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) October 4, 2018
Campaign Trail
Trump Jr. has been on the campaign trail, going to some of the same states as the president but at different times, ahead of the November midterm elections.
He has appeared recently or is scheduled to appear soon—most of the time with his girlfriend, former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle—in Minnesota, Ohio, North Dakota, Nevada, Texas, and Montana, according to a schedule obtained by the Wall Street Journal.
President Trump has been holding rallies across the country, appearing recently in West Virginia, Tennessee, and Mississippi. He was scheduled to hold a rally in Rochester, Minnesota, on Oct. 4 and hold a rally in Topeka, Kansas, on Oct. 6. He also has rallies scheduled in Iowa and Pennsylvania next week.