00:00This war in Iran is a disaster.
00:03It is killing Americans.
00:05It is driving up the price of gas and diesel.
00:08It is wrecking our moral standing around the world.
00:12Thank you all.
00:13Thank you all for being here.
00:15Corrupt politicians are profiting off a corrupt war,
00:20and Texans are literally paying the price.
00:23Gas prices are skyrocketing.
00:26Diesel is more expensive than it's ever been.
00:29Texas gas stations are running out.
00:31This is a crisis in our state.
00:34When the price of diesel goes up, the price of everything goes up,
00:37because almost everything you buy was shipped by diesel,
00:42whether that's produce, whether it's goods you buy online, clothes,
00:46everything you buy depends on the price of diesel.
00:50So this is exacerbating an affordability crisis,
00:54crushing Texans all over this state.
00:56This war in Iran is a disaster.
01:00It is killing Americans.
01:02It is driving up the price of gas and diesel.
01:05It is wrecking our moral standing around the world, and it must end.
01:11When I'm in the U.S. Senate, I will fight to bring this war to a close
01:15so that we can bring down costs for Texans.
01:18Today, I'm talking about my plan to provide some immediate relief to Texans at the pump.
01:24Every time you fill up, you are paying a hidden tax called the federal gas tax.
01:29I'm proposing that we suspend the federal gas tax,
01:33which would drop the price of gas by 18 cents immediately,
01:37providing Texans some much-needed relief.
01:40I'm also proposing that we suspend the federal diesel tax,
01:44which will save those who use diesel $170 a year
01:48and help lower the price of everything else in our economy.
01:52This is the kind of immediate action we need to provide Texans some relief at the pump
01:57in the middle of this affordability crisis.
02:00Ken Paxton supports this disastrous war in Iran that's driving up our costs.
02:05Today, I am calling on him to oppose this war and support my plan
02:11to suspend the federal gas tax and the federal diesel tax
02:15so we can provide Texans some necessary relief.
02:20Suspend the federal gas tax, suspend the federal diesel tax,
02:24and end this disastrous war so we can lower prices for Texans.
02:28With that, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.
02:31Ellie?
02:32Hi, Ellie.
02:32Hi, Ellie.
02:54Well, we've reached out directly to Ken Paxton, his campaign, and Fox News about this debate.
03:00I hope that it happens because Texans deserve to hear from both of their Senate candidates directly.
03:06This is a critical choice that Texans are facing in this election.
03:10They deserve a debate where they can get their questions answered,
03:13and I hope General Paxton will agree.
03:16Jack.
03:18Hey, Jack.
03:31So many of our Hispanic neighbors across the state supported President Trump in 2024
03:37because they thought he was going to lower prices.
03:39They thought he was going to end the forever wars.
03:42They thought he was going to drain the swamp and release the Epstein files.
03:46But more than a year into this administration, those promises have not been kept.
03:51Everything is more expensive because of these crazy tariffs.
03:55We have another forever war in the Middle East.
03:57The Epstein files have still not been fully released, and the swamp is bigger than it's ever been before.
04:04So I'm extending an open hand to all of our neighbors who supported the president in the last election
04:10and inviting them to join this movement we're building across the state
04:14because this movement is bigger than any one politician.
04:17It's bigger than me.
04:18It's bigger than Ken Paxton.
04:20It's bigger than President Trump.
04:22This movement is bigger than any one political party.
04:24It is about working Texans coming together across partisan divisions, racial divisions, cultural, religious divisions,
04:32so that we can take on the people at the top, the billionaire megadonors, the corporate special interests,
04:38the corrupt politicians who are screwing all of us over.
04:41Because whether you're a little more conservative, whether you're a little more progressive,
04:45whether you're black, white or brown, none of us can afford gas or diesel.
04:50None of us can afford groceries.
04:52None of us can afford health care.
04:53The essentials, the necessities that we need to survive in this economy.
04:58And so the only way that's going to change is if we unite together
05:01to take on this broken system that Ken Paxton represents.
05:07You are in the middle of a bombardment, tens of millions, maybe more of negative ads being spent against you
05:14to try to cast them to be out of touch with Texas issues, transgender issues,
05:20some of the things you said about religion in the past.
05:23Another thing, what would you say to a voter who's seeing those ads and have questions about it and about
05:29your record?
05:30Yeah, billionaires are pouring an unprecedented amount of money into Texas to try to buy this Senate seat.
05:37They are terrified of the movement that we're building in Texas.
05:41They are terrified of working people uniting to stand up against their corruption and us fighting to bring down our
05:48costs.
05:48And so they're going to do everything they can to buy the seat.
05:52They're going to throw everything they have at us.
05:54They are hoping that Texans will care more about these manufactured culture wars than actual wars.
06:02They're hoping Texans will care more about pronouns than prices.
06:07But I think that Texans see through this distraction.
06:11They see through this politics of division.
06:13They are ready to come together so that we can transform this broken, corrupt system and finally bring down our
06:20costs.
06:20Kareem.
06:39Yeah, I speak about my faith because it is central in my life and it is central in my public
06:46service.
06:46My granddad was a Baptist preacher in South Texas, and when I was real little, he told me that as
06:53Christians, our job is to follow the two commandments that Jesus gave us, to love God and to love neighbor.
07:00And as a Christian, I'm not just supposed to love my neighbors who look like me.
07:04I'm not just supposed to love my neighbors who pray like me.
07:08I'm not just supposed to love my neighbors who vote like me.
07:11I'm supposed to love all of my neighbors the way I love myself.
07:14And I think Texans are hungry for a politics that's built on that kind of love.
07:20And so I'm engaging with my fellow Christians all over the state who may come to different political conclusions, different
07:27policy conclusions.
07:28And that's OK.
07:29I think we're all sick and tired of politicians who weaponize faith to divide us.
07:35The word religion literally means to re-ligament, to reconnect us into one body.
07:42I think we need leaders who remember that and who will stop weaponizing faith to divide Texans for their own
07:49gain.
07:50Thank you very much, everyone.
07:51Thank you all for being here.
07:52Appreciate you.
