Trump attempts to save Ken Paxton during Texas double-header with last-ditch vow to unleash 1 million barrels of ‘free oil’… as Republicans fear the worst
Donald Trump held two Texas rallies to support Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, whose tight race against Democrat James Talarico has raised concern among Republicans. At the first rally, in Corpus Christi, Trump announced that a tanker nearby carried one million barrels of Venezuelan oil, which he said was being supplied to the US at no cost to taxpayers.
Trump linked the shipment to an agreement for the US to receive a share of Venezuela’s oil after Nicolás Maduro was captured, and presented it as an oil victory. The campaign is taking place amid high fuel prices, which the article attributes to the war with Iran: the national average was $4.27 a gallon and Texas’s was $3.71. Paxton also faces scrutiny over past corruption allegations, his 2023 impeachment and his separation from his wife; Trump praised him and attacked Talarico over an earlier absence from campaigning.
In short
- Trump rallied in Texas for Senate candidate Ken Paxton.
- He said a tanker carried one million barrels of Venezuelan oil.
- High fuel prices and Paxton’s past controversies weigh on the race.
Explained simply
Texas is a reliably Republican state, but its US Senate race has become unusually competitive. Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general and Republican candidate, is running against Democrat James Talarico; Paxton’s political record includes corruption allegations and an impeachment by the Texas House in 2023, though the Senate acquitted him.
The contest is unfolding as voters face high petrol prices, making energy a prominent campaign issue. Venezuela has some of the world’s largest oil reserves, and its government, led by Nicolás Maduro, has long had a tense relationship with the United States. Any US arrangement involving Venezuelan oil therefore carries political and economic significance, as well as implications for relations between the two countries.