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Donald Trump said Thursday during a visit to the Texas-Mexico border that Gov. Greg Abbott is “absolutely” on his short list of potential vice presidential candidates for his 2024 bid.
During a joint interview with Abbott on Fox News, host Sean Hannity asked the former president if Abbott was being considered for the job. Trump responded that Abbott is “a spectacular man” and was honored when Abbott endorsed him for president last year.
“And he’s done a great job,” Trump said. “Yes, he would certainly be someone he would consider highly.”
“So he’s on the list?” Hannity said.
“Of course it is,” Trump responded, as Abbott looked on.
Hannity then asked if anyone else was on the short list, and Trump named U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican who was recently an opponent in the Republican primary for president. Scott has since endorsed Trump, with Trump calling him an “incredible” campaign surrogate.
Abbott has not always embraced Trump as much as other state officials like the lieutenant governor. Dan Patrickwho twice chaired Trump’s campaign in Texas.
Trump and his allies have also shown occasional signs of frustration with Abbott over the years. Last May, Trump questioned on his Truth Social platform why Abbott was not talking about the impeachment of the Attorney General by the Texas House. Ken Paxtonan important Trump ally in Texas.
But Abbott and Trump have already found ways to shore up their relationship come election time. Trump gave Abbott a crucial early endorsement in his contested 2022 re-election primary, and Abbott appeared at a Trump rally in the Houston area weeks before the primary, which the governor easily won.
In recent years, Abbott has generated national attention for his aggressive policies related to the border and immigration. He has pushed Texas to use state funds to build border barriers, continuing one of Trump’s signature policies. Abbott has spent billions of state dollars on border control, enlisting the Texas National Guard and the Department of Public Safety to police the region. He has also spent millions of dollars busing immigrants to Democratic-led cities. And he took on the Biden administration’s border authority by blocking Border Patrol access to a boat ramp at a public park along the Rio Grande.
Trump visited that park with Abbott on Thursday to draw attention to President Joe Biden’s handling of immigration. While there, he praised Abbott’s border security efforts.
Trump also praised Abbott’s deployment of concertina wire along the Rio Grande and efforts to arrest immigrants crossing the border illegally.
“He really stepped up,” Trump said of the governor. “It’s been amazing.”
The two men spent much of Thursday together, touring the Texas border with Mexico at Eagle Pass and discussing Abbott’s border security efforts. During his brief speech to reporters afterward, Trump praised Abbott.
“This is an incredible operation,” Trump said.
At one point, Trump mentioned that several Republicans in the US Senate are vying for his support to replace outgoing Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Although Abbott is not a US senator (and the position is not chosen by presidential candidates), Trump joked that he could choose Abbott.
“I would rather be governor of Texas,” Abbott replied.
“I think you’re doing well,” Trump said. “I want to keep you in Texas.”
Democrats, meanwhile, have criticized Abbott’s border policies as political opportunism that dehumanizes migrants and wastes state resources that could be better spent on other priorities.
Biden was also at the Texas-Mexico border on Thursday. From Brownsville, she called Trump and asked him to pressure Congress to pass important immigration legislation.
“Instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me, or I will join you, in telling Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill,” he said. “We can do it together”.
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