Trump seeks cash, publicity in Austin
AUSTIN — Jim Irby plans to be in the rodeo arena crowd Tuesday night when Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump brings his campaign to the state capital for a rally and a fundraiser.
The 38-year-old suburban tech worker says wants to be there for the show, the latest for the most unconventional presidential candidate in this most unorthodox political season.
Beyond the show, Irby also plans to vote for Trump in November.
“Like a lot of other people, I’m fed up with the political system in this country and, say what you will about Mr. Trump, he is the outsider,” Irby explained, wearing his red “Make America Great” ballcap in an Austin coffee shop. “Austin is the center for liberal Democrats in Texas. This should be a good show.”
Protests planned
Indeed, as Trump jets in from a noon Fort Worth fundraiser for a two-hour show with conservative Fox News commentator Sean Hannity, an invitation-only Headliner’s Club fundraiser followed by a 7:30 p.m. speech at the Travis County Expo Center, protesters on Monday promised they will be out in force. Among them will be local and state Democratic Party luminaries, who plan a news conference to bash the New York business tycoon’s positions on immigration, the economy, foreign policy and everything else.
Most political consultants and political science experts agreed Monday that Trump’s visit could be a publicity masterstroke, even if such campaign visits by a Republican nominee may seem more at home in conservative GOP enclaves like Plano or The Woodlands. Even more important than the publicity value, they agree that it is all about fundraising, a race in which Trump is running behind Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
Because the Lone Star State’s wealthy have been a cashbox for national campaigns for years, both Trump and Clinton have been raising money in Texas for months.
“(Trump) likes to thumb his nose at the political establishment, and Austin is liberal and Democratic, so what better place to come to do that,” said veteran Austin political consultant and lobbyist Bill Miller. “If there’s protests, all the better. Bring it on. The people who come out against him will help him make his point. And it will motivate his supporters because everyone knows politics is all about the fight, and when people get upset they tend to turn out.
“It’ll be political psychology at its best,” he added.
State Republican Party Chairman Tom Mechler appeared to agree, issuing a statement that said, “For Mr. Trump to come to Austin, the blueberry in the tomato soup that is Texas, should certainly ruffle the feathers of some very liberal politicians who are more concerned with being politically correct than addressing the many issues facing the citizens of Austin.”
While some top Republican officials like Gov. Greg Abbott and other statewide elected officials have said they will have to miss the Trump tour, citing other commitments, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Rick Perry, Texas’ former governor and onetime Trump rival, will be among the officials at the candidate’s side.
Bill Clinton to visit
By several insider estimates, Team Trump hopes to pick up at least $3 million or more in contributions and pledges from his Texas swing, his third in recent months that have included stops in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio. Tickets to Tuesday’s Fort Worth luncheon and roundtable cost from $250,000 per couple to join the Trump Victory Executive Committee to $25,000 to be a “host,” according to an invitation.
Allen Blakemore, a Houston GOP political consultant, said Trump’s visit started as a fundraising visit with the Austin rally added in the past week.
“People come to raise money in Texas. Nothing new there,” he said. “People say the visit is unprecedented. Texas must be in trouble (for Republicans). It’s not.”
And when Trump leaves Texas, Blakemore added, “He will leave with more money and more votes.”
On Thursday, former President Bill Clinton is slated to arrive to raise money in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio for his wife’s presidential campaign.