On the heels of major election gains in the Rio Grande Valley, president-elect Donald Trump paid a visit to Texas this week – his first trip to the state since election day. He was reportedly in town to watch SpaceX’s Starship launch at the company’s Brownsville facility.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has been a vocal supporter of Trump and a major campaign donor.
The president-elect’s visit was met with excitement by some residents in the formerly-Democratic stronghold.
“Donald Trump made huge gains in South Texas, winning the four counties in the Rio Grande Valley,” said James Barragán, politics reporter for the Texas Tribune. “So there were plenty of people there who were excited to see him, who showed up just to see President Trump. And they’re excited about economic opportunities like what SpaceX is bringing.”
But not everyone shared the enthusiasm, especially over SpaceX’s operations in the region.
“Of course, there are also other people who are concerned about the environmental potential harm that SpaceX might be bringing, the amount of noise,” Barragán said. “But there were certainly a good amount of people there who were excited to see President Trump.”
Hear more stories from the week in Texas politics in the audio player above.
