AUSTIN, Texas — Former U.S. President Donald Trump stopped in Austin Saturday.
Trump arrived in Central Texas to headline the American Freedom Tour stop on May 14. The event was hosted at the Austin Convention Center with about 8,000 people present, according to police and workers at the event.
"I love to be here with my wife," said Viorel Popa, an attendee. "It's our first convention. I mean, our first rally for Trump. And I love the State of Texas."
The former president was joined by his son, Donald Trump Jr., and conservative speakers Kimberly Guilfoyle, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Dinesh D'Souza, Kevin Sorbo, Ted Nugent and others. They spoke on faith, finance, freedom and family; the four ideals of the tour.
Only 5,000 seats were reportedly available. Workers at the Austin Convention Center told KVUE that attendees started lining up at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Sandra Sanchez went to the rally to support Trump. She hopes he runs for office again.
"It's also to let them know, let us know that he's still here for us and he'll always be," said Sanchez. "So, that's why we're also here, you know, to let him know that we're also going to support him."
According to a release, the Austin leg of the tour is the sixth stop of what will be dozens of rallies set to be held across the nation. Another stop for the tour is also planned for Birmingham, Alabama, on June 18.
Many attendees brought up changes they want to see in the pricing of goods and along the U.S. border.
"Our nation's border crisis in Texas is about to grow even worse, thanks to Biden's decision to rescind Title 42. Americans are eager to hear President Trump's America-first message now more than ever," American Freedom Tour President Chris Widener said.
Trump last stopped in the Lone Star State in January 2022 when he held a rally in Conroe as part of his Save America Tour. There, he criticized President Joe Biden on the situation in Ukraine and the U.S. pullout of Afghanistan.
Trump also visited Austin in 2019 to tour facilities used by Apple.
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