President Donald Trump on Saturday evening praised a video that resembled a group of cars decorated with pro-Trump flags that allegedly tried to run a Biden campaign bus off the road in Texas.
“I LOVE TEXAS!” the president wrote in a tweet of a short video showing a Biden bus driving along a highway, surrounded by vehicles displaying Trump flags. The scene resembled an incident on Friday that prompted Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden’s campaign to cancel an event in the state over safety concerns.
Cars containing Trump supporters surrounded a Biden campaign bus as it traveled through from San Antonio to Austin on Friday. Some vehicles in the group drove in front of the bus on Interstate 35 and slowed down, in an apparent effort to stop the bus.
The Biden campaign later said that they had to cancel an event in Texas “out of an abundance of caution” after the Trump supporters tried to run their bus “off the road.” Biden staffers, who were worried about their safety, called 911 and requested assistance to arrive at their destination. The Austin Police Department told the Washington Post that no arrests were made when officers joined up with the Biden bus in Austin.
Democrat Sheryl Cole, a member of the Texas House of Representatives, tweeted: “This is a 1st for me—but we just cancelled a joint event in Pflugerville w/ @JoeBiden campaign, @AustinYoungDems, & more, due to security reasons. Unfortunately, Pro-Trump Protestors have escalated well beyond safe limits.”
In a statement, Tariq Thowfeek, the Biden campaign’s Texas communications director, said, “Rather than engage in productive conversation about the drastically different visions that Joe Biden and Donald Trump have for our country, Trump supporters in Texas today instead decided to put our staff, surrogates, supporters, and others in harm’s way.”
Videos and photos of the incident shared to social media show Trump supporters swarming the Biden bus as it traveled around the state as part of its “Battle for the Soul of the Nation” tour, which invited prominent Texas Democrats to publicize their support for the former vice president.
Reporter Jordan Bontke shared footage of Trump supporters shouting at the Biden bus as it moved toward I-35, accusing the Democrat of being a “Chinese communist.” One pro-Trump activists on foot could be seen holding a sign that read, “Hunter Biden’s laptop.”
News of the incident comes as American citizens and officials grow increasingly concerned over the possibility of voter intimidation or violence at polling stations on Election Day.
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