Influential Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott endorsed former President Donald Trump on Sunday as the 2024 GOP frontrunner visited a town along the border. The candidate said his strong border policies would make Abbott’s job as the leader of Texas “much easier.”
Trump told Abbott at an Edinburg airport hangar that when he is elected, the governor will “be able to focus on other things in Texas.”
Abbott long advocated for a strong border and focused the state’s resources on stemming the illegal migrant invasion. Texas bore the brunt of President Joe Biden’s open border policies since his election three years ago.
Speaking about 30 miles from the Hidalgo Port of Entry, Abbott told the crowd of supporters that the state needs a president “who’s going to secure the border. We need Donald J. Trump back as our president of the United States of America.”
Encounters with illegal border crossers hit record levels under the Biden administration with millions now flooding Texas and other border states.
Trump was complimentary of Abbott’s efforts to pick up where the current administration left off in controlling the border. “What you do is incredible, and you want it to be done right.”
🚨 Texas Gov. Greg Abbott endorses Donald Trump for President.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 19, 2023
While in Edinburg, Trump visited with Texas National Guard soldiers, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, and others called into service to control the border.
Abbott correctly noted that these personnel should be home tending to other tasks instead of doing the federal government’s job of patrolling the porous southern border.
The governor told the gathering 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.”
Abbott further said the nation cannot continue on its present course under Biden’s “leadership.”
Trump pledged if reelected to restore his successful “remain in Mexico” program that the Democratic administration dismantled. This forced asylum seekers to stay south of the border for their cases to be resolved.
From day one, Biden rejected Trump’s forceful immigration control in favor of what he termed a more humanitarian and orderly process. The results of this change, however, have been a sharp regression into chaos and a national emergency.
More than five million illegal migrants have been arrested under Biden’s watch — hardly a controlled situation. Millions from far-flung parts of the globe poured into the country as lax policies replaced Trump’s more strident approach.
