00:00Yeah, I speak about my faith because it is central in my life, and it is central in my public
00:06service.
00:07My granddad was a Baptist preacher in South Texas, and when I was real little, he told me that as
00:13Christians,
00:14our job is to follow the two commandments that Jesus gave us, to love God and to love neighbor.
00:20And as a Christian, I'm not just supposed to love my neighbors who look like me.
00:25I'm not just supposed to love my neighbors who pray like me.
00:28I'm not just supposed to love my neighbors who vote like me.
00:31I'm supposed to love all of my neighbors the way I love myself.
00:35And I think Texans are hungry for a politics that's built on that kind of love.
00:41And so I'm engaging with my fellow Christians all over the state who may come to different political conclusions,
00:47different policy conclusions, and that's okay.
00:49I think we're all sick and tired of politicians who weaponize faith to divide us.
00:55The word religion literally means to re-ligament, to reconnect us into one body.
01:02I think we need leaders who remember that and who will stop weaponizing faith to divide Texans for their own
01:10gain.
01:14Thank y'all.
01:15Thank y'all for being here.
01:17Corrupt politicians are profiting off a corrupt war and Texans are literally paying the price.
01:26Gas prices are skyrocketing.
01:28Diesel is more expensive than it's ever been.
01:31Texas gas stations are running out.
01:33This is a crisis in our state.
01:36When the price of diesel goes up, the price of everything goes up because almost everything you buy was shipped
01:42by diesel.
01:43Whether that's produce, whether it's goods you buy online, clothes, everything you buy depends on the price of diesel.
01:52So this is exacerbating an affordability crisis, crushing Texans all over this state.
01:59This war in Iran is a disaster.
02:02It is killing Americans.
02:03It is driving up the price of gas and diesel.
02:07It is wrecking our moral standing around the world.
02:11And it must end.
02:13When I'm in the U.S. Senate, I will fight to bring this war to a close so that we
02:17can bring down costs for Texans.
02:20Today, I'm talking about my plan to provide some immediate relief to Texans at the pump.
02:26Every time you fill up, you are paying a hidden tax called the federal gas tax.
02:31I'm proposing that we suspend the federal gas tax, which would drop the price of gas by 18 cents immediately,
02:39providing Texans some much needed relief.
02:41I'm also proposing that we suspend the federal diesel tax, which will save those who use diesel $170 a year
02:50and help lower the price of everything else in our economy.
02:54This is the kind of immediate action we need to provide Texans some relief at the pump in the middle
03:00of this affordability crisis.
03:02Ken Paxton supports this disastrous war in Iran that's driving up our costs.
03:07Today, I am calling on him to oppose this war and support my plan to suspend the federal gas tax
03:16and the federal diesel tax so we can provide Texans some necessary relief.
03:22Suspend the federal gas tax, suspend the federal diesel tax, and end this disastrous war so we can lower prices
03:29for Texans.
03:30With that, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.
03:33Ellie?
03:34Hi, Ellie.
03:35Hi, Ellie.
03:36Hi, Ellie.
03:37Hi, Ellie.
03:39Hi, Ellie.
03:40Hi, Ellie.
03:41Hi, Ellie.
03:56Well, we've reached out directly to Ken Paxton, his campaign, and Fox News about this debate.
04:02I hope that it happens because Texans deserve to hear from both of their Senate candidates directly.
04:08This is a critical choice that Texans are facing in this election.
04:12They deserve a debate where they can get their questions answered, and I hope General Paxton will agree.
04:18Jack.
04:20Hey, Jack.
04:33So many of our Hispanic neighbors across the state supported President Trump in 2024 because they thought he was going
04:40to lower prices.
04:41They thought he was going to end the forever wars.
04:44They thought he was going to drain the swamp and release the Epstein files.
04:49But more than a year into this administration, those promises have not been kept.
04:53Everything is more expensive because of these crazy tariffs.
04:57We have another forever war in the Middle East.
04:59The Epstein files have still not been fully released, and the swamp is bigger than it's ever been before.
05:06So I'm extending an open hand to all of our neighbors who supported the president in the last election
05:12and inviting them to join this movement we're building across the state because this movement is bigger than any one
05:18politician.
05:19It's bigger than me.
05:20It's bigger than Ken Paxton.
05:22It's bigger than President Trump.
05:24This movement is bigger than any one political party.
05:26It is about working Texans coming together across partisan divisions, racial divisions, cultural, religious divisions,
05:34so that we can take on the people at the top, the billionaire megadonors, the corporate special interests,
05:40the corrupt politicians who are screwing all of us over.
05:43Because whether you're a little more conservative, whether you're a little more progressive,
05:47whether you're black, white, or brown, none of us can afford gas or diesel.
05:52None of us can afford groceries.
05:54None of us can afford health care.
05:55The essentials, the necessities that we need to survive in this economy.
06:00And so the only way that's going to change is if we unite together to take on this broken system
06:05that Ken Paxton represents.
06:09You are in the middle of a bombardment, tens of millions, maybe more of negative ads being spent against you
06:16to try to cast it as being out of touch with transgender issues, some of the things you've said about
06:24religion in the past.
06:25Another thing, what would you say to a voter who's seeing those ads and have questions about it and about
06:31your rest?
06:32Yeah, billionaires are pouring an unprecedented amount of money into Texas to try to buy this Senate seat.
06:39They are terrified of the movement that we're building in Texas.
06:42They are terrified of working people uniting to stand up against their corruption and us fighting to bring down our
06:50costs.
06:51And so they're going to do everything they can to buy the seat.
06:54They're going to throw everything they have at us.
06:56They are they are hoping that Texans will care more about these manufactured culture wars than actual wars.
07:04They're they're hoping Texans will care more about pronouns than prices.
07:09But I think that Texans see through this distraction.
07:13They see through this politics of division.
07:15They are ready to come together so that we can transform this broken, corrupt system and finally bring down our
07:22costs.
07:22Kareem.
07:23Hi.
07:25You've worn your faith on your seat throughout this race.
07:28Texas has a lot of Christian voters that are looking for Republican and are reaching different policies than you do.
07:34Do you think they have misunderstood the political implications of their Christian faith?
07:38Or can Christianity be voters to differ?
07:41Yeah, I speak about my faith because it is central in my life and it is central in my public
07:48service.
07:48My granddad was a Baptist preacher in South Texas.
07:52And when I was real little, he told me that as Christians, our job is to follow the two commandments
07:58that Jesus gave us to love God and to love neighbor.
08:01And and as a Christian, I'm not just supposed to love my neighbors who look like me.
08:06I'm not just supposed to love my neighbors who pray like me.
08:10I'm not just supposed to love my neighbors who vote like me.
08:13I'm supposed to love all of my neighbors the way I love myself.
08:16And I think Texans are hungry for a politics that's built on that kind of love.
08:22And so I'm engaging with my fellow Christians all over the state who may come to different political conclusions, different
08:29policy conclusions.
08:30And that's OK.
08:31I think we're all sick and tired of politicians who weaponize faith to divide us.
08:37The word religion literally means to re-ligament, to reconnect us into one body.
08:43I think we need leaders who remember that and who will stop weaponizing faith to to to divide Texans for
08:51their own gain.
08:52Thank you very much, everyone.
08:53Thank you all for being here.
08:54Appreciate you.
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