USA TODAY International Edition
Trump wall divides rallies in El Paso
EL PASO, Texas – Mariachis versus MAGA hats. Pro-wall versus pro-immigrants. President versus potential presidential hopeful.
This Texas border city of 684,000 residents was rocked Monday by dueling political rallies as a campaign event by President Donald Trump was met with protests led by former Democratic congressman and El Paso native Beto O’Rourke, a potential contender against Trump in next year’s presidential election.
Across the city, Trump supporters voiced their approval of the president, especially in his steadfast effort to erect a border wall along the southwest border with Mexico. A campaign rally at the El Paso County Coliseum drew several thousand supporters.
Trump took a jab at his El Paso rival, calling O’Rourke “a young man who has very little going for himself except he has a great first name.” His speech was interrupted repeatedly by anti-Trump protesters in the crowd.
“Where do these people come from?” Trump said, widening his arms.
A mile away, several thousand protesters shouldered a windy, cold evening to hold a counter-rally. They held signs that read “Immigrants Make America Great” and “BETO 2020” while mariachi music rang out.
O’Rourke delivered a speech in English and Spanish, denouncing Trump’s policies and harsh rhetoric on illegal immigration. “We, together, are making a stand for the truth against lies and hate and intolerance,” he told the cheering crowd. “We are going to show the country who we are.”
The Trump rally, held in strongly Democratic El Paso, came a week after the president’s State of the Union address, in which he angered many locals by saying El Paso was “once considered one of our nation’s most dangerous cities” until a security fence was erected. Trump wants $5.7 billion to build a wall, a sticking point in a government shutdown that dragged for 35 days.