Marty Schladen

El Paso Times

AUSTIN — With his signature bombast against illegal immigration, crime and terrorism, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump rallied a crowd of thousands Tuesday night on the outskirts of Texas’ capital city.

Many parked cars a mile or more away and their occupants made the trek into a sweltering Travis County Expo Center.

After being introduced by former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., Trump took the stage and hit his usual themes.

“Tonight is about re-declaring our independence in this country,” Trump said.

There had been talk in recent days that the New York businessman might be softening his stance on immigration, but that wasn’t evident Tuesday.

“We are going to build a wall,” Trump declared, then asked the crowd, “Who’s going to pay for it?”

“Mexico!” the audience shouted, reprising a well-used line by Trump — and one that has been rejected by Mexican presidents past and present.

The real-estate developer also decried what he claimed was exploding crime in the United States — another claim that many experts dispute, saying that overall trends show crime has been dropping for decades.

And he reprised his argument that trade agreements and other forms of international engagement are responsible for economic malaise at home. As he has in the past, Trump used the phrase “America first,” an expression first used by an anti-Semitic organization that tried to keep the United States from entering World War II.

“Americanism, not globalism, will be our credo,” Trump said. “It’s going to be America first from now on.”

But Trump got his loudest response any time he criticized his opponent, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. The crowd would boo loudly and chant, “Lock her up.”

The rally capped a day of activities for Trump in Austin. He came to the rally after a private fundraiser and, before that, a two-hour taping of a show with Fox News personality Sean Hannity that will air over two nights.

Downtown, outside the taping, dozens of protesters gathered as Trump supporters lined up in front of the theater.

Predictably, most of the protesters came no farther than across town in this deep blue city to chant slogans such as “Hillary” and “stop the hate.”

From time to time, a group of supporters would try to start a chant of “lock her up” but they were quickly drowned out by chants of “love trumps hate.” But that was about as acrimonious as things got.

It was another day in this most unconventional of campaigns.

Trump, who led Clinton in Texas by six percentage points in a poll released last week by Public Policy Polling, came to Austin after a visit to Fort Worth.

Trump plans another rally Wednesday in Jackson, Miss., another GOP stronghold where he is expected to win even more easily than in Texas.

He does so riding a long wave of controversial statements about banning Muslims from entering the U.S., praising Russian strongman Vladimir Putin and comments about a Mexican-American judge that House Speaker Paul Ryan said were the “textbook definition” of racism.

But at least some of his supporters said they support Trump because of what they think he’d do to help the economy.

Tommy Dastamanis, 32, and his wife, Ariel, 25, left their home in Bradenton, Fla., and have been following the Trump campaign selling merchandise.

At their Austin stop, they added University of Texas Longhorn-themed “Texans for Trump” T shirts to their collection of “Make America Great Again” trucker caps and “Blue Lives Matter” T-shirts. They also had a few Confederate flags bearing Trump’s name that were going for $30 a pop while they lasted.

Ariel Dastamanis said she could understand why some people find the flag offensive, but she said others see it as a symbol of Southern heritage.

“I don’t have an opinion on it,” she said.

Tommy Dastamanis said he’d been unemployed for two years until his gig selling Trump merchandise came along. He said that as president, Trump would similarly stimulate the American economy.

“We love him and want to get him in office,” Tommy Dastamanis said.

Jennifer Eggleston drove 80 miles from Fredericksburg because she also thinks Trump can help what she sees as a stagnant job market.

“I’m a Trump supporter,” the interior designer said as she waited in line. “I’m a single mother and I’m raising my daughter to be independent.”

But if she and others turned out to praise what they see as Trump’s virtues, others stood in the humid heat to excoriate him for what they consider his many faults.

“I’ve been interested in politics since 1960 and I’ve never seen a goofball like this get the nomination,” said Bill Burns, a semi-retired videographer from the nearby town of Buda.

Looking out at the line waiting to get into the theater, Burns said, “I can’t believe they all have bad intentions, but Trump appeals to the worst in people.”

Lulu Flores, who has lived in Austin for 40 years, moved here from Laredo. She said Trump knows nothing of the border or families like hers who lived in the area before it became Texas.

“The border crossed us, and Mexicans have given a lot to this state,” she said.

Trump has built a reputation as a nontraditional candidate, but his decision to visit a liberal stronghold in a state that votes reliably Republican left some observers scratching their heads.

“It really does defy the theories about why presidential candidates move where they do,” said University of Houston political scientist Brandon Rottinghaus, who among his other interests studies the movements of presidents and presidential candidates.

He said that part of Trump’s motive was fundraising.

There’s a long tradition of presidents and presidential candidates coming to Texas to tap wealthy donors. When John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in November 1963, he was planning an ambitious fundraiser in Austin later that night.

Rottinghaus said Trump hasn’t exhausted his fundraising potential in the Lone Star State.

“Trump has pulled less money from Texas than a more traditional candidate like (Texas Sen.) Ted Cruz and (former Florida Gov.) Jeb Bush would have,” Rottinghaus said.

But Trump’s other Austin events are more mystifying.

“The rally part is what’s really puzzling,” Rottinghaus said of holding it in liberal Austin. “Maybe he wants to spike the football on the field of the other team.”

It’s also possible, Rottinghaus said, that Trump is trying to mend fences with a state party that is more in the thrall of Trump enemies such as Cruz and Bush, whose presidential father and brother also are not supporting the New York businessman.

Steve Munisteri, former chairman of the Texas GOP, on Tuesday told Politico that one reason for Trump to rally Texans would be to widen his lead over Clinton and help down-ballot Republicans, such as those running for seats in the Legislature.

On Tuesday afternoon, Trump was getting no help from the leader of the local GOP.

Rob Morrow, the controversial chairman of the Travis County Republican Party, was walking around in a jester’s hat, carrying a sign accusing Trump of being a criminal.

Asked who he planned to vote for, Morrow said he’d write himself in.

Marty Schladen can be reached at 512-479-6606; mschladen@elpasotimes.com; @martyschladen on Twitter.