Texas: The Issue Is – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Harris-Walz presidential ticket

AUSTIN, Texas – Vice President Kamala Harris recently announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz would be her running mate in the 2024 presidential election.

The Democratic National Convention is set for August 19-22 in Chicago, and Harris and Walz are trying to blow into the Windy City with political momentum. Some polls even have the race for the White House as a tie.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott spoke with FOX 7 Austin’s Rudy Koski about what he thinks of the Harris-Walz ticket and his outlook on November.

GREG ABBOTT: So you have a vice president, former senator who was the most liberal member of the US Senate with the most liberal governor in the United States of America. And this is liberal extremism. And as governor of the largest border state, I got to tell you, I’m very concerned and frightened to see a ticket that could impose open border policies that are even more extreme than what Biden has allowed in the United States. And so the first thing I do is think, what am I going to have to do to be able to respond to this administration if they were to get elected?

RUDY KOSKI: With that said, the former House speaker, Nancy Pelosi described him as a Midwestern moderate. Lloyd Doggett saying a great middleman. How do you respond to that?

GREG ABBOTT: Nancy Pelosi also said days before Joe Biden was replaced that he was fit for office. And so you got to look through a very thick lens to see exactly what she means when she’s talking. The reality is, if you look at the policies that both Harris and Walz have embraced, they support sanctuary cities, they support giving taxpayer-funded benefits to immigrants who come here illegally. They are both antagonistic to the type of barriers that Texas has erected that led to a decrease in illegal immigration. So they are both very dangerous for not just illegal immigration, but for energy policy.

RUDY KOSKI: A lot of media hype, though, going on for the Democratic ticket. How do you battle that? That’s very loud noise. Or are you expecting a September lull?

GREG ABBOTT: Well, there’s after the convention takes place. That’s when the fight will really begin. And the battle is going to be over issues, not personalities. But what voters will cast a vote on is who’s going to best secure the border, who’s going to be able to fight inflation, who is going to be able to tackle the real problems that everyday Americans are facing. And that’s going to be Donald Trump.

RUDY KOSKI: Are you worried that he tries to make it too personal and loses the issue?

GREG ABBOTT: Fight things that a person may say. That’s not the reason why somebody will go cast a vote. They’re going to cast a vote by the way that you will influence or affect their life in the future by the policies that you stand for.

RUDY KOSKI: The former president is going to be sentenced on his so-called hush money trial in September. Terrible timing as a former judge. How do you think this is all going to play out?

GREG ABBOTT: Well, I will tell you the way that has played out until now. And that is it looks like a very political trial.

MORE ON THE 2024 ELECTION

RUDY KOSKI: If he goes to jail, how does that factor? 

GREG ABBOTT: Well, it’s not going to happen, but there could be action taken by the Senate. That would hinder President Trump on the campaign trail. That would be viewed as overly political and probably would have the opposite consequence with the general public coming into the summer.

RUDY KOSKI: The general public was angry about the border issue. What was happening there? You got to face facts. You got to face the numbers. Operation LoneStar worked. Reduced the numbers. Did you peak too soon? Did you take the issue out of November?

GREG ABBOTT: Americans realized the damage done to our country by Joe Biden’s open border policies. They know that Kamala Harris was the border czar. Whether she likes that title or not. 

MORE TEXAS: THE ISSUE IS

RUDY KOSKI: I’ll eat my crow. Operation LoneStar worked. Knock down the numbers. But again, people have short term memories. Will they remember this issue in November?

GREG ABBOTT: It’s still showing up in the polling.

RUDY KOSKI: There’s been a lot of Republican infighting nationally, locally. Are you worried that Republicans are attacking Republicans and not attacking Democrats is going to create a problem, and you’re going to lose this election?

GREG ABBOTT: As we make the turn into September and October, we unite behind common principles and values such as securing the border, such as growing jobs, such as fighting inflation. And those aren’t going to change. And so you will see the party unite and move toward victory at the national level and at the state level and local level also.