Texas Governor Greg Abbott formally endorsed former President Donald Trump at an event at the United States-Mexico border.
The two Republicans gathered at an airport hangar in Edinburg, Texas to serve meals to members of the Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and Texas National Guardsmen who have been sent to the southern border in response to growing security concerns. The event is a pre-Thanksgiving tradition hosted by the governor annually.
“We need a president who’s going to secure the border,” said Abbott. “We need Donald J. Trump back as our president of the United States of America.”
Border security has been a staple issue for both Abbott and Trump. While campaigning in 2016, Trump promised to build a wall on the southern border to address illegal immigration and he championed the “Remain in Mexico” policy while in office. Abbott launched Operation Lone Star, a multi-agency effort to address illegal activity at the U.S.-Mexico border, in March of 2021. The program increased the resources available to law enforcement, jail administrators, medical examiners, and court administration dealing with the impacts of illegal border crossings. Abbott also authorized Texas to bus migrants to major cities across America as part of Operation Lone Star to prevent border communities from becoming over-extended by new arrivals.
As of September, Texas had bussed more than 37,400 illegal immigrants to New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Denver, and Los Angeles.
“Texans – and Americans – deserve a President who will prioritize national security and secure our border,” wrote Abbott in a post on X on Nov. 19. “We have a President who has done just that: Donald J. Trump.”
Abbott had previously avoided indicating which Republican he would back during the 2024 election. The governor told reporters in August that he was focused on addressing the border crisis and protecting America as a whole. He praised both Trump’s track record and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s deployment of state troopers to assist Texas with illegal crossings.
“We just want a Republican president … or the soul of America will be crushed,” Abbott said, per News Nation.
Trump endorsed Abbott for reelection in June of 2021.
“Greg Abbott is a fighter and a Great Governor for the incredible people of Texas. No Governor has done more to secure the Border and keep our communities safe than Governor Abbott,” said the current Republican presidential frontrunner, per NBCDFW. “Greg is a staunch defender of the Second Amendment and has made Texas a Second Amendment Sanctuary State. Texas has become a job-creating machine, and our partnership helped restore America’s economic power and success.”
