President Donald Trump's rally for Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton at San Antonio's packed Freeman Coliseum on Wednesday night was repeatedly disrupted by protesters, at least a dozen of whom interrupted the speech, according to the Associated Press.
Trump stepped away from the microphone at one point and mocked the ejected demonstrators, claiming without evidence that they had been paid to disrupt the event. He is fighting to rally Texas voters behind Paxton, who is in a surprisingly tight race against Democrat James Talarico — a recent New York Times/Siena poll had Talarico ahead 51 to 45.
During the speech, Trump pledged to award baseball legend Roger Clemens the Presidential Medal of Freedom, restated his support for the death penalty for drug dealers, and clarified his recent "take out" remarks about Iran, Los Angeles and San Diego. He also announced that $100 payments to more than 20 million Medicare seniors would begin Thursday.
The rally underscores how competitive the Texas Senate race has become, with national attention — and presidential firepower — now trained on a contest Republicans once took for granted.
