The Republican governor of Texas endorsed former President Donald Trump for president in 2024 on Sunday.
Former President Donald Trump vowed to renew his crackdown on illegal immigration while visiting the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas on Sunday.
“We’re going to take over that border and we’re going to make it the most secure border in our history,” President Trump said on Sunday in Texas alongside Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who endorsed the Republican frontrunner for his party’s 2024 presidential nomination.
While promising to target “gangs and thugs” who illegally cross the border, Mr. Abbott appeared alongside the former president at an event near the the U.S.–Mexico border, saying that it is only President Trump who can secure the border and restore “law and order.”
Responding to Mr. Abbott’s endorsement, President Trump told him, “I am going to make your job much easier” if elected next year. “You’ll be able to focus on other things in Texas,” he added.
Earlier Sunday, President Trump, who had endorsed Mr. Abbott for his reelection bid in 2021, served meals to Texas National Guard soldiers, troopers, and others who will be stationed at the border over Thanksgiving. The former president and Mr. Abbott handed out tacos, and the former president shook hands and posed for pictures.
“What you do is incredible, and you want it to be done right,” President Trump told them.
But the governor said that National Guard members and Texas troopers who are stationed at the border “should not be here at this time” and “should be at home.” He said that “the only reason why they are here is because we have a president of the United States of America who is not securing our border,” referring to President Joe Biden.
President Trump did not get into the policies he would pursue if elected. “We just need the walls. And it worked,” he said during the border event.
Among other proposals, the former president has vowed to block immigrants who support Hamas from entering the United States, and to send officials to pro-Hamas protests to detain and deport immigrants who publicly support the designated terrorist group.
