‘Liars’ Trump and Cruz buddy up to keep Texas red

Donald Trump has told Texans the midterms would be a verdict on immigrant caravans and their “assault on America’’.

US President Donald Trump at a campaign rally for Republican senator Ted Cruz, in Houston, Texas, yesterday. Picture: AP

Donald Trump has held his ­biggest rally ahead the mid-term elections, telling Texans he is a “nationalist’’ and that the poll would be a verdict on immigrant caravans and their “assault on America’’.

In a fiery speech to more than 16,000 raucous supporters in Houston, the US President ­focused on the hot-button issue of the moment, the 7000-strong caravan of migrants heading towards the US through Mexico.

“Do you know how the caravan started,’’ he said, before saying it started with the Democrats and their lax border security laws.

“That (caravan) is an assault on our country,” he said. “In that caravan you have some very bad people … we need to build the wall fast,’’ he said.

“Today’s Democratic Party would rather protect criminal aliens than American citizens.

“I’m a nationalist. We’re not really supposed to use that word but really I am a nationalist.’’

Mr Trump’s visit to Texas is the largest in a spate of rallies as he steps up his efforts to defend the Republican-controlled congress ahead of November 6 elections.

The huge gathering was part-rock concert, part festival as supporters waved pink “Women for Trump’’ and “Make America great again’’ signs and danced to songs from Rolling Stones and the Village People.

Ted Cruz: ‘God bless the President Donald Trump.’ AFP

Previous rifts were forgotten as Mr Trump shared the stage with his former rival senator Ted Cruz, whose crucial Senate seat is under pressure from popular Texas Democrat rival Beto O’Rouke.

During the 2016 election campaign, Mr Trump famously branded Senator Cruz “Lyin’ Ted” and accused his father of being linked to the Kennedy ­assassination.

Senator Cruz labelled Mr Trump a “pathological liar’’ and a “serial philanderer’’.

But Senator Cruz took the stage yesterday saying: “God bless Texas and God bless the President Donald Trump.’’

Mr Trump entered the arena to a deafening roar before describing Senator Cruz as “a really good friend’’ even though “we’ve had our little differences’’.

Mr Trump urged the crowd to keep Texas a deep Republican red, warning the cost of defeat would be to suffer mob rule by socialist Democrats who would strip Texans of their fundamental freedoms and open the borders.

“This will be the election of the caravan, of (Supreme Court judge Brett) Kavanaugh, of tax cuts, law and order and common sense,” Mr Trump said. He got the biggest cheers for his comments on the need for tighter border security, vowing to turn back the migrant caravan when it reached the US. “We are defending that border … we are defending your freedom,’’ he said.

The President then turned his attention on the ‘‘fake media’’, causing the crowd to boo and hurl abuse at the media pack. He asked why the media had refused to properly investigate Hillary Clinton’s “crimes’’ and accused the media of failing to properly report the fact that his approval ratings had now risen and that he was now ‘‘one of the most popular’’ US presidents. Mr Trump then reeled off statistics about the growing economy, the booming stockmarket, the record low unemployment of minorities and rapid job creation under his watch.

“The number of Americans working has just reached the highest in the history of our ­country,’’ he said.

He said he had protected jobs by ending “the horrible war on American energy’’ and withdrawing from the “very unfair’’ Paris treaty on climate change.

He said: “The radical Democrat mob would take a giant wrecking ball and destroy our economy and our country.’’

One Democrat protester was shouted down and dragged away in handcuffs by police.

Mr Trump took aim at “globalists’’, saying their agenda was to put the US second.

“Under Republican leadership, America is winning again, America is respected again because we are putting America first,’’ he said.

Mr Trump then taunted possible presidential aspirant Elizabeth Warren, whose DNA test to prove her American Indian heritage backfired when she was found to have a statistically insignificant amount of Indian blood.

“I can no longer call her Pocahontas because she has no Indian blood … she doesn’t qualify,” a gleeful Mr Trump said.

He said opinion polls were tightening and that the so-called “blue wave’’ of Democrat votes was no longer looking likely.

Then he made his final pitch to the conservative Texan crowd.

“We know faith and family, not government and bureaucracy, are the true centre of American life,’’ he said.

Cameron Stewart is also US contributor for Sky News Australia