Donald J. Trump, American president, went to the border town of El Paso, Texas, on Monday night for his first rally since shutting down the government last month over funding for his wall between the U.S and Mexico. Although three-quarters of Americans felt the shutdown was embarrassing for the country, the crowd at Monday night's rally showed that the president and his policies maintain strong, even rabid support among his most loyal followers.

And yet the place where Trump held the rally, El Paso, is a Democratic stronghold in a red state. Beto O'Rourke, a possible 2020 presidential candidate, represented the city in Congress until this year, following an unsuccessful Senate bid. As O'Rourke and others have pointed out, El Paso saw violent crime fall before a border fence was built. Violent crime went up after it was built, according to the New York Times. On Monday, O'Rourke held a march and counter rally at a baseball stadium nearby. He is expected to announce in the coming weeks whether he will run for president.