Four, actually.
“Looking like a busted up version of Sex and the City” #rhonj #txlege pic.twitter.com/ceAYm8o3uG
— Lauren. (@512Lauren) June 30, 2021
WESLACO, Texas (CN) -- As Texas Governor Greg Abbott floats plans to finish building a border wall, former President Donald Trump visited the Lone Star State on Wednesday to, as he put, “admire the wall and how it works.” But the real show came earlier, at a so-called border security briefing in the South Texas city of Weslaco.
There, at a Texas Department of Public Safety building, the purpose of Trump’s border visit came into focus. State Republican leaders like Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton displayed their pro-Trump bona fides, beaming as Trump noted that he had given Abbott his “highest and best endorsement” and hinted he would be making an endorsement in the 2022 Texas attorney general race “in the very near future.”
Meanwhile, the former president -- who has been banned from virtually every social-media platform as a result of his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol -- got a platform to speak to journalists who have largely ignored him since he left office. Much of what he said had nothing to do with the border at all.
Instead, Trump discussed the years-old investigation into his campaign’s alleged ties to Russia, his cognitive abilities and his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen ...
“Everyone said, ‘Russia, Russia, Russia,’” Trump said at the border security briefing. “Well, that’s been proven false. Not only false, it was them that were associated with Russia. It was them, the Democrats and Hillary [Clinton].”
If you don't understand why it's Little Governor at this point, I can't help you #txlege pic.twitter.com/DN6IPxr0HD
— Scott Braddock (@scottbraddock) July 1, 2021
Snark aside, the "boarder", as so many MAGAts spell it, will be the rally cry for 2022, and I would guess two years after as well. The governors of Florida and some other Republican states have answered Abbott's call, sending their National Guards to South Texas. Noteworthy for trying to avoid the "taxpayer dollars' waste" problem is South Dakota's Kristi Noem, who got crony-creative.
So, in truth, the South Dakota National Guard have become mercenaries. Except they don’t get paid, the state government does. I’m not sure how the fuck this is even legal. Money from an org in one state paying another state to send troops to a third state. https://t.co/nDbQdLrRnv
— Jack'sHouseOfPancakes (@RegimeChangeInc) June 30, 2021
And there won't be one single red county judge that gets left out.
At a press conference, Galveston County Judge Mark Henry announces he’s declared a disaster in Galveston County because of the “crisis at the border” #galvnews pic.twitter.com/9grskWv3rj
— John Wayne Ferguson (@JohnWFerguson) June 29, 2021
All for a stunt.
Prioritizing Texans who suffered thru COVID? Fixing the electric grid? Nope. Abbott wants to:
— Texas Civil Rights Project (@TXCivilRights) June 29, 2021
⭕️Build a wall costing us ~$26-46M PER mile
⭕️Begin arresting migrants
⭕️Revoke state licenses from shelters housing migrant CHILDREN
Shameful political theaterhttps://t.co/iBfWlGkxxz
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says the state will build its own border wall — here’s what’s wrong with that plan
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) June 30, 2021
In partnership with @EmCollective pic.twitter.com/bMvw2vdV8L
As you may notice, the “opt-in” border counties are not, by any reasonable determination, on, near or in any proximity to the border. 🙄
— Cari Marshall (@CariMarshallTX) June 29, 2021
This would almost be laughable if it weren’t such a dangerous and expensive gaslighting stunt. https://t.co/DDlIDACzXA
A stunt, to be clear, that is widely supported by those who vote in the TXGOP primary (who are the only people who matter in this state).
Foreshadowing from Feb. 2021 UT/Texas Tribune Poll: "Thinking about state spending, do you think that Texas state government spends too much, too little, or about the right amount on border security?" Texas GOP response: spend more. https://t.co/OqpAdSNKbs #txlege pic.twitter.com/fYPOHh7VH4
— Jim Henson (@jamesrhenson) June 30, 2021
The government of Texas has spent over $3.5 BILLION over the past 7 years on various state trooper deployments to the border, to virtually no effect at all. Now the state wants local governments to dip into their own coffers and cough up a few hundred million $ to jail migrants. https://t.co/cI40cSebS1
— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@ReichlinMelnick) June 28, 2021
Governor Greg Abbott has sent a thousand state cops into Texas border communities to combat smuggling. But many locals complain that they are more of a nuisance than an effective crime-fighting force.https://t.co/yRoQHadDHY
— Texas Monthly (@TexasMonthly) June 28, 2021
.@rossramsey: "The government that purports to represent the majority of Texans often represents only the majority of the people in the party in power." https://t.co/0Asd69vWfd
— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) June 28, 2021
It takes a special kind of stupid to keep falling -- and paying -- for this shit. Then again, these are the folks who mustered forces to keep Ted Cruz in the Senate.
Ted Cruz Roasted Online for Saying It’s “Brazen Gaslighting” to Call Out GOP Hypocrisy https://t.co/ttAf8WOOR7 @tedcruz is the poster child for #GOPHypocrisy #ExpelTedCruz #CancunCruz
— Sue #NoMoreWars #DefundPentagon #FreePalestine🌹 (@ProgressiveG2) June 30, 2021
They're also the people, by and large, being arrested for insurrection in D.C. on January 6th.
TRUMP'S RADICALIZED TERROR SQUADS
— Bombshell DAILY 💣 (@BombshellDAILY) June 26, 2021
A wealthy Texas suburb sent 19 domestic attackers to first assassinate Pence & Pelosi, & then illegally reinstate their own Commander, to the Presidency. #insurrection @FBI @dni @NSAGovhttps://t.co/HIazvEBb1e
Man accused of destroying media at US Capitol riot arrested in Austin area
— KVUE News (@KVUE) June 30, 2021
https://t.co/dzbs0GISf5
And, paraphrasing Jon Lovett as Michael Dukakis, Texas Democrats are still losing to these guys.
More on COVID, social justice, and that long-delayed enviro-post coming. Here's my soothers.
The Chicago investor buying 32 of the beloved and beleaguered Texas cafeteria chain's remaining locations says the "food is not the problem."https://t.co/E2eZVg6CzN
— Texas Monthly (@TexasMonthly) June 30, 2021
The Rolling Stones at the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, 1975. 📷 Ken Regan. pic.twitter.com/PWJfXfx6wl
— Rock N Roll Pictures (@RockNRollPics) June 28, 2021
The Arcane Texas Fact of the Day:
— Traces of Texas (@TracesofTexas) June 28, 2021
It was 102 years ago today, in 1919, that the Texas Legislature ratified the 19th amendment, allowing women to vote. This photo shows suffragettes in Houston, 1912. pic.twitter.com/hkx2dYjQwl
Correction: White women.