{"id":204858,"date":"2016-11-02T20:38:43","date_gmt":"2016-11-03T02:38:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=204858"},"modified":"2016-11-03T11:48:51","modified_gmt":"2016-11-03T17:48:51","slug":"pence-in-las-cruces-says-trumps-movement-is-coming-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2016\/11\/pence-in-las-cruces-says-trumps-movement-is-coming-together\/","title":{"rendered":"Pence, in Las Cruces, says Trump\u2019s ‘movement is coming together’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor’s note: Read our coverage of the tense scene outside Pence’s rally here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

They were men, women and children. They were old and young. They were white and Latino. The several hundred people who turned out to hear Mike Pence speak in Las Cruces on Wednesday warmly welcomed the Republican vice presidential nominee.<\/p>\n

Pence, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump\u2019s running mate, arrived at the Las Cruces International Airport in a Trump campaign Boeing 737 and was greeted by a crowd of people wearing shirts with slogans like \u201cTrump 2016\u201d and \u201cHillary for Prison 2016.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mike

Billy Hunstman \/ NMPolitics.net<\/p>

Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence speaking Wednesday in Las Cruces.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a Christian, a conservative and a Republican,\u201d Pence said at the rally, which was held in a hangar with his plane behind him and a light rain falling outside.<\/p>\n

During his speech, Pence said the choice in the election is not between two candidates, but between two futures. Democratic presidential nominee\u00a0Hillary Clinton, he said, \u201cpersonifies a failed establishment in Washington, D.C.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI choose a stronger America, a more prosperous America,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the path Americans can choose, Pence said, by voting for Trump, who he said embodies the American spirit \u2013 \u201cstrong, freedom-loving, independent, optimistic and willing to fight everyday for what he believes in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pence said he accepted the invitation to be Trump\u2019s running mate \u201cin a heartbeat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause you have nominated a man for president who never quits,\u201d Pence said. \u201cHe is a fighter, he is a winner, and until very recently, it seemed he was out there fighting all on his own \u2013 but now this movement is coming together, New Mexico is coming together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pence\u2019s rally came days before the Nov. 8 election and as polls in New Mexico and across the nation are tightening. Trump insisted at a campaign event in Albuquerque on Sunday<\/a> that he can win New Mexico and has directed new attention here. His son, Donald Trump Jr., will hold rallies in Farmington<\/a> and Shiprock<\/a> later this week.<\/p>\n

In Las Cruces on Wednesday, meanwhile, Pence spoke about Trump\u2019s now-familiar plans if elected, though he was at times thin on details.<\/p>\n

\u201cDonald Trump\u2019s got a plan in the first 100 days to pass ethics reform in our nation\u2019s capital with a newly re-elected Republican majority leader in the House \u2013 and in the Senate, we\u2019re going to \u2018drain the swamp,\u2019\u201d Pence said.<\/p>\n

The history of that phrase<\/a> goes back to at least Republican President Ronald Reagan, who said \u201cdraining the swamp\u201d of big government\u2014 rooting out corruption\u2014 was his primary mission.<\/p>\n

Pence criticized the foreign policies of current President Barack Obama and Clinton, saying removing U.S. troops from the Middle East allowed the Islamic State\u2019s rise to power.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will hunt down and destroy ISIS at its source,\u201d Pence said.<\/p>\n

Pence also spoke about Trump\u2019s plan to \u201cend illegal immigration once and for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDonald Trump has a plan: We\u2019ll build a wall,\u201d Pence said. \u201cWe\u2019ll have zero tolerance for criminal aliens and we\u2019re going to remove criminal illegal aliens from the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the economy, Pence said Trump also had a plan: \u201cAfter we re-elect strong Republican majorities in the House and in the Senate, in the first 100 days we\u2019re going to cut taxes across the board for working families and small businesses,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Trump will also repeal all of Obama\u2019s executive orders, renegotiate NAFTA, and pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Pence said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce again, trade will mean American jobs first,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On health care, Pence said Trump plans to repeal Obamacare.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to give consumers more choices,\u201d Pence said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to let people buy health insurance across state lines, the way they buy car insurance, the way they buy life insurance. We\u2019re going to let the power of the American free market lower the cost of health insurance.\u201d<\/p>\n

At one point during Pence\u2019s speech, the crowd started a chant of \u201cLock her up!\u201d \u2013 referring to Clinton. Pence said he and the rest of Trump\u2019s campaign team are glad the FBI has reopened the investigation<\/a> of classified emails Clinton sent using a private server. The situation, Pence said, is a reason that New Mexicans must help ensure \u201cthat Hillary Clinton is never elected president.\u201d<\/p>\n

FBI Director James Comey recently said new emails were found, prompting the additional investigation. Clinton has denied hiding emails and has called for the FBI to release all the emails the agency has to the public.<\/p>\n

Before Pence\u2019s speech, some\u00a0New Mexico Republicans warmed up the crowd and voiced support for Trump and Pence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must make the federal and state governments more efficient, more respective and more accountable and transparent,\u201d said Las Cruces City Councilor Ceil Levatino, who is running for the District 37 seat in the New Mexico Senate. \u201cI\u2019ll work toward that goal in Santa Fe, and I believe Trump and Pence will do that in Washington, D.C.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDrain the swamp,\u201d Levatino said.<\/p>\n

U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., who is seeking re-election this year, voiced strong support for Trump and Pence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hear people every day expressing concerns about what Mr. Trump says,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m more worried about what (Clinton) does.\u201d<\/p>\n

That matches what Pearce has said previously in response to the release of a 2005 video<\/a> in which Trump describes sexually assaulting women. Pearce has said he thinks Trump\u2019s comments were \u201chorrid<\/a>\u201d but has continued supporting him, saying he can\u2019t even consider backing Clinton.<\/p>\n

Pearce didn\u2019t mention on Wednesday Trump\u2019s proposal to build a wall<\/a> on the U.S.\/Mexico border \u2013 which the congressman has previously said he doesn\u2019t support<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pearce said he expects New Mexico to vote for Trump. Recent poll numbers suggest that\u2019s possible. An Oct. 24 poll of likely New Mexico voters\u00a0showed Trump within five percentage points, 45-40 percent<\/a>, of Clinton in New Mexico.<\/p>\n

One elected Republican who previously said he wouldn\u2019t support Trump<\/a> because of the presidential candidate\u2019s comments about women also showed up on stage at Pence\u2019s rally. Rep. Andy Nu\u00f1ez, R-Hatch, who is up for re-election this year, briefly took the stage to lead the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance. He said nothing about the presidential race.<\/p>\n

A prior version of this posting incorrectly identified Nu\u00f1ez as a Democrat.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pence said the choice is not between two candidates, but between two futures. \u201cI choose a stronger America, a more prosperous America,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2959,"featured_media":204860,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[708,3307,145,226,116],"class_list":["post-204858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-2016-election","tag-donald-trump","tag-las-cruces","tag-presidential-race","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2959"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}