Trump again taunts Democrats during State of the Union tour and muses about a “friendly takeover” of Cuba

President Donald Trump promoted his second-term record in a wide-ranging speech at the Port of Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday, building on topics covered in his State of the Union address earlier in the week.

But he did not issue the long-awaited endorsement days before a hotly contested U.S. Senate primary pitting incumbent John Cornyn against two challengers, state Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt.

Before the event, Trump told reporters that he had “basically” decided who he would support in the midterm elections, but would not do so on Friday, according to a White House report.

Leaving the White House en route to Texas earlier in the day, Trump also suggested he might direct a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, saying the Cuban-American community would appreciate such an action.

“We might as well achieve a friendly takeover of Cuba after many, many years,” he told reporters. “They’re in serious trouble and we might as well (do) something good, I think, very positive for the Cuban people living here who have been expelled or worse.”

Tensions are high between the United States and Cuba. Cuban government he said on Thursday his border patrol killed four Cuban expatriates living in the United States who were trying to enter the country by speedboat.

A little discussion about energy policy

The speech in Texas was billed as an energy speech, with Trump speaking in front of signs reading “American Energy Dominance” and against a backdrop of oil tankers.

But he barely mentioned the issue, except for brief passages at the beginning and end of his speeches in which he took credit for lowering gas prices.

Instead, the president jumped from topic to topic, defending his administration’s controversial record on immigration enforcement and the military operation in Venezuela while attacking Democrats as out of touch and increasing calls for changes in election administration that he believes will prevent the party from winning future elections.

Among them are the SAVE America Act passed by the House, which in most cases would require the public to present a passport or birth certificate to register to vote. Although it has little chance of passing the Senate, Trump continues to advocate for it.

He claimed without evidence that Democrats could only win the election by cheating. If Congress makes changes to the country’s electoral law, the party will be excluded, he said.

“They will never win because their policies are bad,” he said. “They want men to play women’s sports. They want everyone to be transgender. They want open borders so criminals from all over the world can come into our country, which we’ve done a good job of. I’ll tell you what: ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has done a great job.”

Medium-term rates

Trump joked at the beginning of his speech that he had been advised against making political statements.

However, several of his digressions focused on the elections this year and beyond.

After touting, sometimes exaggeratedly, his record of one-year unified GOP control, he said it was crucial for Republicans to maintain majorities in the U.S. House and Senate.

Noting that Democratic members did not stand and applaud at several of his moments State of the Union address an issue that Republicans repeatedly raised as a campaign issue in the days after the speech, Trump declared Democrats were “crazy.”

“They are crazy,” he said. “We have to win halfway. We brought this country back. We don’t want to lose halfway. We have to win halfway.”

Choice forecasters predict the most likely outcome November term, Democrats will take control of the House while Republicans will hold the Senate. Very few places are perceived as random.

Trump also teased a potential third term as president, which would violate the constitutional ban on more than two terms. He said he was eligible for another term because the election was “stolen” from him, a reference to the 2020 election he lost to Joe Biden and has since claimed, without evidence, that he made the wrong decision.

“Maybe let’s do one more term. Should we do one more?” – asked the crowd. “Well, we’re entitled to that because they cheated like hell in the second half.”

GOP battle in the Texas Senate

In the Senate contest, Trump shouted out Cornyn, Paxton and Hunt without indicating which of them he favored.

Election Day is Tuesday, although for the three main candidates there will likely be a May runoff between Cornyn and Paxton.

Trump wore a version of his signature red hat with the words “American Gulf” on the front instead of the usual campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.”

Trump signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico early in his second term. Corpus Christi Port is located on the bay.

Venezuela

At the beginning and end of the roughly hour-long speech, Trump promoted his energy policy and criticized Biden for regulations that Trump said would leisurely energy production.

By increasing production and importing oil from Venezuela after the ouster of leftist President Nicolás Maduro in January, Trump said he had lowered prices for gas and all consumer products.

Biden and Democrats in Congress “are waging a radical left-wing war on U.S. oil and natural gas like you’ve never seen before,” he said. “They were killing our country… Everything changed on my first day back in office.”

The newest row statisticshowever, they show that energy costs in January were about the same as when Trump took office, falling only 0.1%, while economy-wide inflation remains stubbornly at around 2.4%.

Trump said U.S. involvement in Venezuela after Maduro’s capture would also support boost the energy sector.

Trump said Friday that the modern government, led by Maduro Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, is open to selling crude oil to the United States, where it will be refined. He added that both countries would benefit from such an agreement.