Trump highlights Gov. Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton policies at Austin Convention Center rally

President Donald Trump brought his “American Freedom Tour” to Austin on Saturday, where he touted his endorsements in several Texas primary runoffs and regaled attendees with stories from his presidency and promises to “take back our beautiful, beautiful, beautiful White House” in 2024.

Trump spoke for more than an hour to a crowd of roughly 8,000 people, all of whom were required to purchase tickets to hear the former president speak at the Austin Convention Center.

Trump was the last speaker of the day and took the stage after remarks by Mike Pompeo, former secretary of state and CIA director under Trump; Donald Trump Jr.; and Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host.

“Get ready to work; get ready to fight; get ready to win and win like never before,” Trump said in closing. “We will take back the House, we will take back the Senate, and we will take back our country.”

Trump’s appearance came 10 days ahead of the Texas primary runoffs on May 24, when several Trump-endorsed candidates will face off with opponents in bids for state and local office.

More: Abortion rights advocates rally at Texas Capitol in Austin

During his remarks, he highlighted a handful of candidates he has endorsed, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is facing a runoff challenge from Land Commissioner George P. Bush.

“He’s got a big election — get out there and vote,” Trump said of Paxton, who appeared to be in the audience. “I hear you’re doing well, but let’s bring home the bacon. Bring it home.”

Besides a mention of candidates he’s endorsing during the runoff election, Trump largely limited his remarks to national issues and challenges he faced during his presidency, including negotiating a new deal for the iconic presidential airplane Air Force One.

But he did give his stamp of approval to an initiative by Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott authorizing child abuse investigations against parents who provide adolescents with gender-affirming medical care. The initiative had been on hold after an Austin judge halted the investigations, but the Texas Supreme Court on Friday struck down that injunction and said state officials could resume the investigations.

"Paxton is investigating Big Pharma for pushing puberty blockers ... on minor youth,” Trump said. “Next year, Republicans should follow Paxton's lead and demand to know why Big Pharma is getting away with chemically mutilating America's children."

Though Trump did not address the fact that the event was occurring in Austin, considered by many to be the state’s most left-leaning city, other speakers used their time on stage to do so.

More: Trump bringing tour to Austin, which hasn't been hotbed of support for ex-president

“I thought they told me Austin is a liberal town?” Pompeo said from the stage, in response to thunderous applause from the audience.

After performing a lengthy rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner” on an electric guitar, Musician Ted Nugent discussed his deep ties to Texas but said he took issue with the politics of its capital city.

“I’m all for keeping Austin weird,” he said. “But when did they start keeping Austin stupid?”

Cost to attend

The event was restricted to people who purchased tickets, which were available at various price options, each with a different level of access.

The cheapest tickets were $9 and granted attendees access to an overflow room where the program was available on a TV screen. "Presidential" tier tickets were the most expensive listed online and were available for $4,995, which bought attendees early access to the event, meet and greet opportunities with different speakers, and seats close to the main stage.

The most expensive tickets available — those dubbed "Patriot" tier — gave attendees access to a private conversation with Trump and Pompeo, but the cost of those tickets was not made publicly available.

Before Trump spoke, attendees were encouraged to take out their cellphones and scan a QR code projected on monitors throughout the arena that took them to a webpage where they could make contributions to the “American Freedom Tour,” a privately run event described on its website as the “preeminent event series designed to equip conservatives across the country to Win Back America.”

Speakers addressed the crowd from a stage marked by four pillars, each with a different word illuminated: Faith, Family, Finance and Freedom.

Despite advertising for weeks that press credentials would be made available to members of the media, event organizers denied requests for access from reporters for the American-Statesman and the USA TODAY Network. Gannett purchased two tickets for reporters to allow them to attend and report on the event.

"We didn't want the press to come, so we kept them out," Trump said during his speech. "They went crazy. I think they broke in. ... They always find a way."

Protests outside the event

The scene outside the sprawling convention center on the southern rim of downtown Austin was largely quiet as Trump-supporting attendees filed toward the one designated entrance starting almost as soon as the sun was rising above Interstate 35. Many stopped to check out several tables lined with Trump merchandise, paying up to $20 for baseball caps emblazoned with Trump slogans and his likeness.

More: Abortion would be illegal in Texas if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade

Just before 2 p.m., the tone shifted when protests began. The first came as about three dozen sign-carrying protesters marched to the center's entrance chanting, "No KKK, no fascist USA, no Trump" and "Our bodies, our choice," a reference to the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion suggesting an end to a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy.

Some Trump supporters tried to shout the protesters down but gave up after a brief attempt. The first protest ended after about a half-hour. A short time later about 100 more demonstrators clogged one of the main streets outside the convention center, again with the focus on abortion rights.

Chants included, "Trump, Trump, go away. Come again no other day" and "Racist Texas, anti-gay; Donald Trump, go away."

Most of the demonstrators carried signs, many with slogans ill-suited for a G-rated audience. About 100 yards away and separated by a cadre of uniformed Austin police officers, a man who did not identify himself taunted the demonstrators from a Humvee outfitted with the InfoWars logo.

"Why don't you abort yourselves?" he said.

Jessi Couture, a 31-year-old Dallas resident who led the first march, said a Trump return to the White House would set back the fight for abortion rights even further. A leaked document from the U.S. Supreme Court indicates that a majority of justices might be willing to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision establishing a constitutional right to abortion.

"Back in the day when women did not have access to abortion rights, many, many women literally died trying to terminate their pregnancy," Couture said. "It's human right to have health care. We cannot got backward."

When a reporter asked 19-year-old Sophia Kindron for a look at her sign saying, "Regulate guns not bodies," she responded, "My mama would be so proud."

Kindron, who lives in Austin and works as a waitress, said the effort to end legal abortions gained strength under Trump. And, she added, she cannot understand why she might have to spend the rest of her adult life without the same right her mother and her grandmother had.

More: Texas Republicans say border is 'out of control' as election, end of Title 42 loom

"It's horrifying," Kindron said. "I want to be a mother. I really do, but when I'm ready to give a child a good life. I'm not ready now."

Trump supporters energized

Pascal Jackson, a staff member for the Trump event, stood outside the convention center carrying an oversized "welcome" sign chest high as he called out to passersby at the corner of East Cesar Chavez and Trinity streets just after 9 a.m.

"Good morning, good people," Jackson said with a wide smile as a man and a woman strolled by.

Jackson, an Austin resident, said people began arriving for the event about 90 minutes early and were eager to get inside the venue.

"The line was wrapped all the way around the block," he said, before pausing to point the couple toward the entrance.

Outside that entrance, Peggy Carl of Houston stood in front of a vendor's cart packed with Trump swag, including T-shirts, flags with messages of support for the former president and the signature red hats that are ubiquitous at every stop along Trump's many road shows since the 2016 presidential campaign.

"I'm a big supporter of Trump, and I'm a big supporter of freedom," said Carl, who wore a red "Trump 2024" T-shirt. "I'm a big USA fan."

Carl said she has been on the road since February as part of the People's Convoy, a mechanized protest that brought about 1,000 vehicles to Hagerstown, Md., outside of Washington in early March. Along the way — which included stops as far away as Arizona and California — she towed a trailer filled with Trump merchandise behind her diesel-powered Dodge Ram 2500 pickup.

"I've put 11,000 miles on that truck," Carl said. "So far."

Around the corner, 16-year-old Addison Abernathy and a couple of friends found a shady spot to sell round wooden coasters with a silhouette of the map of Texas and "Let's Go Brandon" etched within the borders. They were crafted by her dad, Addison said. Asked if she was motivated by politics or profits, the Austin teenager let out a quiet chuckle.

"I'm not sure where I stand yet," she said. "I'm just here to help my dad."

Johnny Galvan of Hutto drew more than a few looks because of his T-shirt as he made his way toward the convention center just before noon. The shirt's message was, "I smell communists." For Galvan, who runs a small motorcycle restoration business in Hutto, attending the event was part political involvement and part civics lesson.

"I'm here with my teenage son," Galvan said. "He has lots of questions, and I thought this could be an educational experience for him."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Trump touts Abbott, Paxton at American Freedom Tour rally in Austin