Trump Jr. mocks Democrats, insults Biden
San Antonio rally for president avoids Syria, touts jobs
In downtown San Antonio on Tuesday, Donald Trump Jr. attacked the Democratic presidential contenders hours before their debate while avoiding thorny topics for his father, including the ongoing fighting in Syria.
He ridiculed former Vice President Joe Biden over his son’s business dealings in Ukraine and mocked U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren's claims of Native American heritage, saying his father “trolled her” into taking a DNA test.
“Please play the debates again and again and again because reasonable people are seeing crazy,” he told a crowd of roughly 600 people packed into a conference room at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. "I mean the amount of new genders multiples by 50-fold every day. I can’t keep track. Neither can they.”
Trump Jr.’s visit to San Antonio comes two days before the president is scheduled to hold a campaign rally in Dallas — in what will be Trump’s 12th visit to Texas since taking office in 2017.
Though in Washington, D.C., Trump faces an impeachment inquiry from Democrats and criticism from some in his own party over a decision to pull U.S. troops from Syria, his San Antonio supporters said they’re thrilled with his first term.
“I think it’s ridiculous. He hasn’t done anything wrong to be impeached,” said San Antonio resident Margaret Zepeda, as she walked to the conference center before the event. “He’s working hard every day. I don’t see where he gets his energy.”
Initially slated to occur at the smaller Club at Sonterra, the event was moved last-minute to a larger second-floor conference room at the convention center.
In the venue’s lobby, Trump supporters stood out wearing bedazzled Make America Great Again hats and holding long banners. One showed the president standing on a tank with a bald eagle flying beside him and fireworks erupting above him.
Trump’s visit to Texas comes as Democrats push to flip U.S. congressional and Texas House seats after record voter turnout last election.
Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, said the activity here shows the campaign wants to make sure to hold the line in Texas.
“They may not be worried about losing outright to a Democrat at the presidential level. But they are certainly worried about dragging down the rest of the ticket, every Republican below him,” he said.
In San Antonio — a city that’s home to four military installations — many Trump supporters said veterans’ issues are a top concern.
Karl Muno, an Air Force veteran, came Tuesday seeking clarification on Trump’s decision to pull out of Syria, which cleared the way for a Turkish military operation targeting Kurdish forces who partnered with the U.S. to fight ISIS.
“Trump may have a very good reason why he did what he did and we may never know because it may be top secret, I understand that,” said Muno, who has long watched Trump’s career and even tried out for “The Apprentice” in 2004. “I would just like to know what the facts are, because loyalty wise, when you are asking people to basically lose their life to help you defeat an enemy, there has to be loyalty there.”
There was little talk of the conflict, however. Trump Jr. and the other speakers, including Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale and campaign senior adviser Kimberly Guilfoyl, largely highlighted the nation’s low unemployment rate as a top Trump accomplishment.
Speakers also panned the investigations into Trump, including the impeachment inquiry over evidence that he pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate Biden's son's business in the country.
“The difference between us and the Bidens is the Bidens literally became international business people, magically, when the father had some power,” Trump Jr. said.
Campaign senior adviser Katrina Pierson was more direct. “You can try to impeach him,” she said. “Remove if you dare.”