Trump declares himself a nationalist and tells Houston rally crowd to 'use that word'
President launches into 'globalists' rant while lending support to former rival Ted Cruz in crucial Senate race
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump declared himself a “nationalist” at a campaign rally in in Texas, encouraging members of the crowd to “use that word”.
Lending his support to Republican Senator Ted Cruz on Monday, the president told the packed Houston event that Democrats wanted to restore the rule of “corrupt, power hungry globalists.”
He described himself a nationalist, despite conceding “we’re not supposed to use that word,” before encouraging members of the crowd to also identify as such.
“We’re putting America first it hasn’t happened in a lot of decades, we’re putting them first, we’re taking care of ourselves for a change,” the president said.
“But radical Democrats want to turn back the clock and restore the rule of corrupt, power hungry globalists.
“You know what a globalist is right? A globalist is a person that wants the globe to do well, frankly, not caring about our country so much.
“We can’t have that. They have a word, it sort of became old fashioned - it’s called a ‘nationalist’.
“Really, we’re not supposed to use that word, you know what I am? I’m a nationalist, okay? I’m a nationalist, use that word.”
Mr Trump had clashed repeatedly with Mr Cruz when the pair went head-to-head during the race for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.
Back then, Mr Trump devised the nickname “Lyin’ Ted” for the senator, before posting a picture on Twitter mocking his wife’s appearance, prompting Mr Cruz to brand him a “snivelling coward”.
But now visiting Texas to offer his backing to the senator in next month’s midterm election, the president said much had changed since, revealing his new name for Mr Cruz was “Beautiful Ted.”
“In just 15 days, Texas is going to re-elect a really good friend of mine,” Mr Trump told the rally. “We had our differences, but if you remember the beginning, it was a love-fest.
“It got nasty, and then it ended and I tell you what, nobody has helped me more with your tax cuts, with your regulation, with all of the things that we’re doing, than Senator Ted Cruz.”
The president wasted little time attacking Mr Cruz’s democratic rival, Beto O'Rourke, describing him as a “stone-cold phony” and a “radical, open borders left winger.”
Mr O’Rourke, who initially looked set to take the senate race down to the wire and potentially cause a monumental upset in a usually-red state, has recently fallen behind Mr Cruz in the polls.
“About a month ago, they were talking about this 'blue wave,” Mr Trump said, in reference to Democrats who had been anticipating midterm gains.
“We're not hearing that anymore. The blue wave is being dissipated a little.”
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