President Donald J. Trump is scheduled to hold a rally at the El Paso County Coliseum on Monday, but El Paso native and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) has announced he will be headlining an anti-border wall rally directly across the street from the President’s “Make America Great Again” rally.
The march begins at 5 p.m. on Monday at Bowie High School, ending at Chalio Acosta Sports Center where O’Rourke is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m., in competition with Trump’s “Make America Great Again Rally,” which is also set to begin at 7 p.m., according to CBS News.
According to a statement released by O’Rourke’s office on Friday, Beto wants to “show the country the reality of the border.”
The statement reads:
“Beto O’Rourke will join with his city on Monday evening to show the country the reality of the border — a vibrant, safe, binational community that proudly celebrates its culture, history, diversity and status as a city of immigrants. While some try to stoke fear and paranoia, to spread lies and a false narrative about the U.S.-Mexico border and to demand a 2,000 mile wall along it at a time of record safety and security, El Paso will come together for a march and celebration that highlights the truth.”
President Trump’s visit to El Paso marks the first “Make America Great Again” rallys of the 2020 campaign cycle.
Apparently, O’Rourke posted his own lengthy rebuttal to President Trump’s State of the Union address on Medium, where he argued that El Paso is safe, not because of a border wall, but because citizens and immigrants “treat each other with dignity and respect.”
“Monday we will welcome the President to one of the safest cities in the United States,” O’Rourke writes. “Safe not because of walls, and not in spite of the fact that we are a city of immigrants. Safe because we are a city of immigrants and because we treat each other with dignity and respect.”
Before running against Republican Ted Cruz, O’Rourke told “60 Minutes,” he would not be running in 2020:
Though, earlier this week he spoke with Oprah Winfrey and said he would make his final decision by the end of February:
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