The Latest: Trump imagines easier 2020 win by popular vote
DALLAS (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump's trip to Texas (all times local):
10:15 p.m.
President Donald Trump, who lost the popular vote in 2016 by nearly 3 million votes, claims it would be easier for him win the next presidential election if the U.S. did away with the Electoral College.
Trump says the beautiful thing about the Electoral College is "you go everywhere."
He says winning the popular vote would be much easier: "I'd go to four states and relax."
Trump is recounting his election victory at a campaign rally in Dallas.
Trump carried the GOP stronghold by 9 points in 2016. But Democrats have pointed to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz's close reelection in 2018 as evidence that the state could soon be in play.
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9:10 p.m.
At a rally in Texas, President Donald Trump tried to turn impeachment rancor into a political rallying cry, bashing Democrats as "crazy" and unpatriotic as they push forward with their investigations.
Setting a dire tone Thursday in Dallas, Trump told his supporters: "At stake in this fight is the survival of American democracy itself."
His comments come as the House continues its quickly unfolding inquiry into Trump's dealings with Ukraine and a day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats walked out of a White House meeting that had devolved into an "insult-fest."
Trump also continued his attacks on former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter over Hunter Biden's work for a Ukraine energy company. Trump's efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate the Biden family are at the heart of the Democrats' inquiry.
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8:50 p.m.
President Donald Trump is accusing Democratic lawmakers of pursuing an impeachment inquiry because they "won't come close in 2020."
House committees are trying to determine if Trump violated his oath of office by asking a foreign country to investigate a political opponent.
Trump told supporters at a campaign rally in Dallas on Thursday that the more America achieves, the "more hateful and enraged these crazy Democrats become."
Trump is being highly critical of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Trump and Pelosi had an explosive meeting Wednesday that resulted in Democratic leaders walking out of the meeting.
Trump claims, "The radical Democrats want to destroy America as we know it."
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8:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump is taking a few swipes at Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke as both campaign in Texas.
Trump seized Thursday on how O'Rourke proposed a mandatory buyback of assault-style rifles. During a town hall last week, O'Rourke said if elected, he would seek to revoke the tax-exempt status of religious institutions that oppose same-sex marriage.
Trump says, "Beto, in a few short weeks, got rid of guns and got rid of religion. Those are not two good things in Texas to get rid of."
Trump says he hopes O'Rourke ends his presidential bid to make a second run for Senate, this time against Republican Sen. John Cornyn. Trump says, "John Cornyn is going to win so easily, just like Ted Cruz won."
O'Rourke is campaigning in a Dallas suburb.
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10:25 a.m.
President Donald Trump is heading to the Lone Star State.
Trump will be headlining a campaign rally in Dallas Thursday evening after holding a fundraiser in Fort Worth and touring a new Louis Vuitton leather workshop nearby.
Texas is a Republican stronghold and a GOP candidate can't win the White House without its 38 electoral college votes. Trump carried the state by 9 points in 2016, but Democrats have pointed to demographic trends as well as the fact that Republican Sen. Ted Cruz won reelection by just over 2 points last year as evidence the second most populous state in the nation could soon be in play.
On Tuesday, Trump's campaign held a preview event in San Antonio featuring the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.
