WASHINGTON -- West Texas Rep. Will Hurd didn't name any names at the Capitol on Wednesday when the Republican questioned how someone could see the North American Free Trade Agreement as a "bad deal."

He didn't need to. President Donald Trump, after all, has said flat-out that he considers the agreement the "worst trade deal ever made."

But that not-so-subtle jab -- offered by a GOPer who this year faces a tough re-election landscape -- offered the latest drumbeat from Texas lawmakers in defense of the 24-year-old trade agreement that is now being renegotiated between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

While Trump has openly considered killing the deal, many Texans see it as a critical economic driver.

"How is that a bad deal?" Hurd said, pointing to the increased trade by the U.S., Canada and Mexico and other economic outputs that have occurred as a result of NAFTA. "How is this a problem?"

Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, questioned how someone could see the North American Free Trade Agreement as a bad deal. (Andrew Harnik / The Associated Press)

The Republican -- who represents a huge swath of the U.S.-Mexico border -- made that case on Wednesday alongside Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, at a Capitol Hill event sponsored by a group called the Bordernomics Alliance.

The event offered just the latest example of Texans in both parties standing up for a trade deal that Trump has delighted in lambasting.

We are in the NAFTA (worst trade deal ever made) renegotiation process with Mexico & Canada.Both being very difficult,may have to terminate? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 27, 2017

Sen. John Cornyn, for example, last month organized a letter signed by 35 of his Senate GOP colleagues that touted the jobs created by NAFTA and that encouraged the Trump administration to "keep NAFTA in place, but modernize it to better reflect our 21st century economy."

And Hurd and Cuellar stressed economic benefits as the three countries prepare this month to meet yet again to discuss the deal.

"The trade between all three countries is extremely important," Cuellar said. "With all due respect to the administration, I don't understand why they don't understand the importance of trade between all three countries."

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said, "I don't understand why they don't understand the importance of trade between all three countries." (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

To hammer home that point, the Bordernomics Alliance worked with well-known Waco economist Ray Perryman to dig deeper into the numbers.

His research highlighted how NAFTA has "basically knitted" together the economies on the U.S.-Mexico border. He projected that an improved deal that encourages more trade would produce hundreds of thousands of new jobs and boost economic growth on both sides.

And what if the deal were terminated?

"If you were to take away NAFTA, basically you take away North America's competitive advantage against the world," Perryman said.

Hurd nonetheless struck an optimistic note that the U.S., Mexico and Canada would agree on a new NAFTA deal that "doesn't mess up our three economies." And if that happens, he said, "we can't get to a point again where we take this stuff for granted."

But Cuellar, the Democrat, also said it would help if the Trump administration does a "better job in understanding that Mexico is a friend and not an enemy."

"When Russia is seen as a friend and Mexico is seen an enemy, our world has been turned upside down," he said.