Alamo Officials Blindsided By Trump Texas Trip
President Donald Trump is visiting the Texas border city of Alamo on Tuesday, but city officials say they learned about the trip through local news, not the White House, sparking confusion ahead of a visit that could draw protests following last week’s storming of the Capitol.
Trump is flying to the city of Alamo (which is in the Rio Grande Valley, more than 200 miles from the better-known Alamo fortress) to celebrate progress on the border wall. One day before Trump’s Tuesday afternoon arrival, city officials said in a statement they were never officially informed of the president’s visit or given an itinerary. City Manager Bobby Salinas told NBC News he first learned about the trip by reading about it in a local newspaper (Salinas did not comment to Forbes on the issue). The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
“We haven’t had much mentioned to us,” Salinas told NBC News on Tuesday.
What To Watch For
Officials in the Rio Grande Valley are bracing for possible protests during Trump’s visit, which comes days after pro-Trump demonstrations in Washington, D.C., turned violent. Advocacy group LUPE is organizing a rally to protest Trump, though it is encouraging people to avoid confrontations, while the Hidalgo County GOP is inviting members to hold up posters in a show of support for the president. Mayor Salinas told Forbes the city is taking “appropriate measures” to prepare for pro- or anti-Trump protests, urging people to remain peaceful, and Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez exhorted residents to “keep [their] passions in check.”
Trump is visiting Alamo to mark the completion of 450 miles of wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, a signature agenda item the president hopes to highlight in the final days of his administration. It’s Trump’s first public appearance since a mob of his supporters broke into the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday afternoon and forced lawmakers into hiding, a crowd many critics from both parties believe was riled up by Trump.
