President Trump was interrupted more than a dozen times by protesters at a San Antonio rally for Senate nominee Ken Paxton, as polls show Democrat James Talarico leading in a tightening Texas race.
President Donald Trump's rally at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio on Wednesday night was interrupted more than a dozen times by protesters as he sought to energize Republican voters behind Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the party's nominee in a tightening U.S. Senate race.
According to CNN, police escorted at least 12 protesters from the venue, some of them in handcuffs. Video from C-SPAN reviewed by The Daily Beast showed one protester being grabbed by the shirt and hair from behind by an elderly man in a red MAGA hat as he left the crowd; several other attendees pulled the assailant away, and the protester escaped.
Trump paused his remarks during the scuffle at the start of the event, then returned to the podium to praise the atmosphere. "Let me ask you something: is there anything like a Trump rally?" he said. "I don't think so." He later mocked the protesters, at one point commenting on one's weight and calling the others "really bad-looking people," and said, "I'm telling you they pay them for this."
A race that has moved away from Republicans
Trump's appearance was his third trip to Texas in a month, a sign of how unexpectedly competitive the state has become for Republicans ahead of next month's midterms.
Recent polling compiled by USA TODAY shows Democrat James Talarico leading Paxton. A New York Times/Siena poll on Oct. 3 put Talarico at 51 percent and Paxton at 45 percent. A Fox News poll on Oct. 1 had it 51 to 49. A Marist poll on Sept. 23 showed Talarico ahead 50 to 44. Several other surveys in September showed a closer race, with leads ranging from one to six points.
Trump attacked Talarico repeatedly from the stage, comparing him to the MAD magazine mascot Alfred E. Neuman and calling him "Tala-freako." Paxton led the crowd in a "Where is Talarico?" chant over the Democrat's campaign absence.
The leaked audio complicating the message
The rally also came days after a New York Times report that Paxton privately conceded Trump was hurting his standing. The Times said it obtained an audio recording of Paxton speaking to conservative donors and lobbyists at a private fundraiser in Washington on Sept. 24.
In the recording, according to the Times, someone asks, "Do you feel like he's a little bit of a drag?" — it is unclear who the person was asking about. Paxton responds: "So to be honest with you, the numbers — when we did that convention — it dropped our numbers. Everybody's numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good."
Paxton's campaign said the report was "more manipulated nonsense from the New York Times to create a story that doesn't exist."
Notably, Governor Greg Abbott did not attend the San Antonio rally. His campaign told USA TODAY that a scheduling conflict kept him away but did not specify his whereabouts or events that day. Abbott is running for reelection.
Bigger picture
The president's multiple stops across the country this week are part of a late push to boost GOP candidates in key races before Election Day, which will decide control of the House and Senate. Polling and economic conditions — including the effects of the administration's continued conflict with Iran — have fueled Democratic hopes of gains in November.
The Texas Senate race has drawn national attention as one of the clearest tests of whether Republicans can defend once-safe territory. Early voting is set to begin in the coming weeks.