2/11/2019

BORDER/DEMS/ELECTION/RALLY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump came to this bustling border city on Monday [2-11-19] to rally support for his wall with Mexico. But he was met by El Paso’s favorite son, Beto O’Rourke, who denounced Mr. Trump’s claim that walls reduce violent crime and led the city’s residents in his own boisterous show of opposition. The dueling rallies, just across the Rio Grande from Mexico, offered a vivid snapshot of the national debate over immigration, as well as a tantalizing early glimpse of the rivalry between Mr. Trump and Mr. O’Rourke, the former Texas congressman who is now considering a challenge to the president in 2020. As he mulls a run for the Democratic presidential nomination, Mr. O’Rourke has seized on immigration as a defining issue. With a flair for political theater that even Mr. Trump took note of, Mr. O’Rourke addressed a crowd less than a mile from the El Paso County Coliseum, where the president spoke to thousands of cheering supporters.”

Mark Landler and Simon Romero, “Trump Takes Border Wall Fight to El Paso; Beto O’Rourke Fires Back,” The New York Times online, February 11, 2019