Lawmakers in Texas are split along party lines in their reaction to President Joe Biden's address from the Oval Office Wednesday night. The president laid out plans for his final six months in office and urged support for Vice President Kamala Harris in the November election.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, a Democrat, said Joe Biden "reveres the job, but he loves his country more."
"Clearly this was an office this person sought for the better part of their adult life," Jenkins says. "They achieved it, and they gave up running for a second term because they love their country more than they love themself."
Jenkins has endorsed Harris. He says Biden's decision not to run for reelection showed the "best chance to preserve democracy" was to step aside and let the next generation step in.
Among Republicans, Senator Ted Cruz said the amount of money raised by Democrats in the first 24 hours after Biden's announcement showed they are "relieved."
"You were demoralized, you were depressed, you were despondent. You were trying to resign yourself to, 'Holy crap. Our nominee is mentally incompetent. We can't win. He's going to get crushed," Cruz said on his podcast, Verdict. "You are thrilled. You are like a drowning man who was thrown a life preserver. You're grasping for it. You're ecstatic."
Cruz said Republicans should be worried about how "elated and relieved" Democrats are.
"That translates into money. That translates into energy. That translates into grassroots. That translates into turnout. That translates into getting voters to come to the polls," he said. "This race has become a very dangerous race. I still think we win, but understand the risks."
During his speech, the president said violent crime is at a 50-year low.
"We’re also securing our border. Border crossings are lower today than when the previous administration left office," Biden said.
"LIES! Burning cities? Deadly fentanyl, cartel violence, human trafficking?" Congressman Roger Williams (R-Cleburne) wrote on X. "Where are the 'fact checkers' now?"
Keith Self (R-McKinney) wrote, "I stopped counting Biden’s lies after the first two minutes."
Before the speech, Beth Van Duyne (R-Irving) wrote, "Kamala failed badly as the 'border czar', leading hundreds of thousands of dead Americans and a wide open border. Now, she wants to make it worse by decriminalizing illegal entry into our country. This radical policy will only cause more illegal immigration and crime."
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