Trump campaigns through Texas for Paxton, greets a tanker of Venezuelan oil and pledges flood aid FEMA turned down

The president started his Texas day at the water's edge, with a ship full of somebody else's oil.

In Corpus Christi, Trump greeted a tanker carrying 1 million barrels of Venezuelan crude bound for local refineries, oil he said Venezuela provided at zero cost to the American taxpayer after American forces removed President Nicolas Maduro in January. Gas and diesel prices have climbed through the Iran war, and Trump argued the country is profiting anyway. "Your country is making an absolute fortune because of the situation in the Middle East," he told the crowd. "We're steering them all to Texas. We're steering them to Louisiana. Alaska is a big beneficiary." He credited his tariffs for billions in Texas investment from companies such as Apple and Texas Instruments, and he went at James Talarico on the state's own ground. "If you're running in Texas and if you don't like guns, and if you don't like meat and if you don't like oil, I think you should be losing by a lot," he said. Talarico has denied being a vegan and joked that he has eaten barbecue since before Ken Paxton's first indictment. He says he supports the Second Amendment and wants guns kept away from dangerous criminals, and he calls his energy position all of the above.

Trump also made a promise the federal government had declined to make. FEMA told Governor Greg Abbott in September that Texas did not qualify for aid for the July and August flooding in the Hill Country, judging the damage not severe enough. Trump told the rally the aid is coming. "We'll work that out on Monday," he said. He then brought Alexis Nungaray to the stage. Her 12 year old daughter Jocelyn was sexually assaulted and killed outside Houston in 2024. Two men from Venezuela, Franklin Peña and Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel, are charged with capital murder in her death, were in the United States illegally according to federal officials, and are waiting for separate trials. Trump said the men belong to the Tren de Aragua gang and that the Biden administration failed Jocelyn. "As much as I wish I can bring Jocelyn back, what I can do is I can share her story," he said. "I can speak up for the voices who were ripped away, like Jocelyn's, and save future lives." Her mother thanked him for keeping her daughter's name alive.

Former football players Johnny Manziel, Danny Amendola and Colt McCoy traveled with the president, and by evening he was in Lubbock, where supporters had lined up as much as 12 hours early outside the Memorial Civic Center. Texas Tech University System Chancellor Brandon Creighton told the crowd to "Wreck Expectations." Paxton took the stage beside Trump. "I've never seen anybody work harder, and I am so appreciative. We are going to win," Paxton said. Trump framed the race the way he has framed the whole midterm. "So on election night, Texas is going to prove that America does not belong to those who hate it," he said. "America belongs to those who love it."

The numbers explain the trip. Talarico raised more than 146 million dollars through October 14, according to Federal Election Commission reports, against 22 million for Paxton including his primary. Groups outside the campaigns spent 153 million dollars opposing Talarico and 91 million supporting Paxton through October 20, according to OpenSecrets. An Emerson College poll released on October 22 put Talarico at 48 percent and Paxton at 46 among likely voters, inside its margin of error, and a Cook Political Report poll released on October 21 put Talarico ahead 49 to 44. Before boarding Air Force One, Trump answered the question hanging over the whole election. Asked whether he would respect the results whatever happens, he said, "I will if they're honest elections." He said that if Democrats take Congress he would use his veto pen often and find ways to work out deals. Talarico's rally across Lubbock followed on Tuesday night, one week before the votes are counted.