President Donald Trump arrived in Oklahoma about two hours late after rain grounded his air travel. Trump sped to the rally in Durant in his armored Cadillac limousine “The Beast” from another event about 80 miles away in Denton, Texas.
“Just 33 days from now, the people of Oklahoma are going to defeat the radical left Democrats. We’re going to elect Mike Mazzei,” Trump said to a packed room at the Choctaw Event Center.
Trump and his anointed candidate for governor both promised the cheering crowd economic relief in the face of rising consumer prices if they voted for Republicans in midterm elections.
Trump repeated his earlier promise to give each adult U.S. citizen a check for $5,000 if Republicans win the House and Senate in midterm elections as the room erupted in applause. Trump offered few details about the pledge, which could cost more than $1.35 trillion.
Trump also mentioned plans for a massive aluminum smelter he wants to see built in Inola, about 170 miles north of Durant.
“You’re going to build the largest aluminum factory, perhaps in the world, and you’re going to make a fortune,” he said.
Mazzei promised to eliminate property and state income taxes for seniors and veterans and also fired shots at his Democratic opponent Cyndi Munson for supporting “diversity, equity and inclusion.”
“That type of radical far-left socialist communist agenda that Donald Trump and I will continue to set out to stop,” Mazzei said.
The rally overshadowed Mazzei and Munson’s only debate before the Nov. 3 election. The debate was to be a live event but had to be prerecorded earlier in the day due to Trump’s visit. It aired on OETA during the rally.
Hundreds of people waited for hours in the rain outside before the rally.
Mazzei is counting on Trump’s strong support in Oklahoma to deliver him a decisive victory on Election Day.
Tristain Morris, 29, of Calera, arrived before noon. She said she voted for Trump in the last election but hadn’t formed an opinion about Mazzei yet.
“I haven’t really looked into it,” she said with a shrug.
Woody Burchett, 78, and his wife drove three hours from their home in Tahlequah for the rally. He said he voted for Trump three times.
“If he runs again, I’ll vote for him again,” he said.
Burchett said he already liked Mazzei as a candidate but Trump’s endorsement right before the Republican primary in June still helped.
“When Trump said he’s okay, that strengthened what I was believing,” Burchett said.
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Brianna Bailey was hired by The Frontier in 2018 and became the outlet’s Managing Editor in 2021. Her hobbies are baking and crashing meetings she isn’t invited to attend. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from The University of Oklahoma.
Email her at brianna@readfrontier.com