Trump rants about ‘loving meat’ and claims solar power fries animals during Texas midterm rallies: Live updates

Donald Trump imitates James Talarico reluctantly eating meatPresident Donald Trump held back-to-back rallies in Texas Tuesday, where he falsely claimed Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico is vegan while proclaiming his own love of meat and warning that solar panels regularly “fry” wild animinals.At his stop in Corpus Christi, Trump mocked Talarico by saying: “You ever see him go to a barbecue and he’s trying to show – ‘I love the meat! Ahhh – I love it. Look.’ And then you see him. Where is he? He’s behind the tent puking. He’s sick as a dog.”Talarico has denied claims that he is secretly vegan, a grave offense in America’s barbecue heartland.The president also made a series of attacks on green energy, rubbishing environmental regulations as “horses***” and claiming that windmills kill birds and solar poses a lethal threat to wildlife.The president was in Texas to drum up support for GOP Senate candidate Ken Paxton and others ahead of next week’s midterms.He will be in Ohio Wednesday to campaign with Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Jon Husted, whose body he has taken to admiring lately. Surveys indicate the Republican Party could sustain severe losses on November 3, potentially costing them their congressional majorities. Vivek Ramaswamy’s former teacher slams him over controversial ad: ‘I taught you better’ Retired teacher Michael Pogue turned up at one of Ramaswamy’s campaign events in Cincinnati at the weekend to protest his attack ad featuring the mother of his rival Amy Acton claiming that she lied about being raped by her stepfather as a child.Pogue held up a banner that said, “Shame on you, Vivek! I taught you better.”Rhian Lubin has the story. Joe Sommerlad28 October 2026 13:00Republican Senate candidates take Trump appreciation too farAs we saw earlier, Ken Paxton joined the president on stage yesterday dressed exactly like him in signature blue suit and red tie.Meanwhile in Kansas, Roger Marshall appears to have been under the sun lamp too long.Joe Sommerlad28 October 2026 12:30Trump’s ‘tough on crime’ agenda erases more than $119M owed to victims The president’s wave of pardons erased more than $119 million in restitution owed to the victims of crime perpetuated by the white-collar criminals and political allies he absolved of wrongdoing.Alex Woodward has more.Joe Sommerlad28 October 2026 12:00Tim Scott claims El-Sayed’s family ‘funded Osama bin Laden’The president recently spoke of his love for the South Carolina Republican senator and here he is joining in the attacks on Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed with another baseless and inflammatory claim.Joe Sommerlad28 October 2026 11:30Former press secretary Katie Zacharia says she would do it all againThe president’s short-lived spokeswoman continues to make conservative media appearances insisting she nurtures no ill feelings about her five days in the White House.Joe Sommerlad28 October 2026 11:00Trump’s energy secretary said president is about ‘driving energy prices down’ as Iran war keeps them high Chris Wright defended the Trump administration’s economic record during a Tuesday appearance on Fox News, arguing that the president was focused on lowering energy costs – despite high gas prices being driven by the Iran war.Jasmine Fernandez has the story.Joe Sommerlad28 October 2026 10:30Watch: Trump talks Iran, ‘environmental horses***’ and pirate ships at Texas ralliesThe president was on typically idiosyncratic form last night and here are a few choice clips you might have missed from his appearances in Corpus Christi and Lubbock, covering such topics as the above mentioned plus Abdul El-Sayed, how to spell “Dumocrats” and the plot of Les Miserables.Joe Sommerlad28 October 2026 10:00Trump says oil-rich Venezuela could soon become America's 51st stateHere’s more on the president’s suggestion that the Central American state whose president he captured and extradited in January could join the United States, a comment made as part of a brag about an oil tanker that, he said, can hold a million barrels of oil.Joe Sommerlad28 October 2026 09:30Trump takes credit for Netanyahu election performanceOver on Truth Social, the president has been taking credit for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanayhu’s performance in Tuesday’s Knesset election.There is not yet a clear winner in the election, which is the first time Israelis have headed to the polls since the October 7 attacks.Trump nevertheless posted a quote attributed to one Irving C Schwartz that read:“When President Trump endorsed Bibi Netanyahu, the whole tide turned, and now, rather than a decisive defeat for a Great Prime Minister, it looks like a big come-from-behind stalemate, or even a WIN for Netanyahu. It all took place AFTER the Endorsement by President Trump, who only wants what is good for the Middle East, Israel, and the United States of America!”Here’s more from Owen Scott.Joe Sommerlad28 October 2026 09:00Democrats are leading Republicans by 11 points in House racesMore likely voters would vote for the Democratic candidate, 52 percent, than the Republican candidate, 41 percent, in races for the House of Representatives in their district, according to a new New York Times/Siena University poll. Some House Republicans have secretly admitted that they will lose the majority this November, according to a Politico report published earlier this month. “President Trump has made this election all about himself,” one GOP lawmaker said. “Now we have to survive that political storm.”Read on...Rachel Dobkin28 October 2026 08:30