President Trump talks about immigration, border wall in SA

Trump in town Wednesday for private fundraiser

SAN ANTONIO – President Donald Trump visited San Antonio briefly Wednesday as part of a fundraising trip to Texas.

Trump was met at San Antonio International Airport by fellow Republicans Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, state Sen. Donna Campbell, of New Braunfels, and Bexar County Commissioner Kevin Wolff.

From the airport, the Republican entourage was driven to a luncheon fundraiser at The Argyle, a private upscale club in Alamo Heights.

A group of eager supporters of the president who call themselves "Trumpsters" waited outside the club, hoping to get a glimpse of the commander in chief.

"I don't find a lot of fans here in San Antonio for some reason of Trump. I guess that's ... one of the reasons I came out," a woman said. "But I think it's important for him to hit some of the areas that people aren't big supporters of his."

"(Of) all the presidents, he's been one of the presidents that we're able to see what he's doing every step of the way, as opposed to ... prior presidents," another supporter said.

VIDEO: Watch Air Force One arrive at SA Int'l Airport

At the luncheon, Trump visited with donors, including several ranchers, who voiced their concerns about the problems and dangers they face with immigrants entering their property.

The conversations prompted Trump to call reporters into the club for an unscheduled news conference to let the White House press pool know about the issues the ranchers face, including having to be paired up and armed when they approach gates at the ranch.

"Nobody has ever told me this," Trump said. "This doesn't come out in fake news. And this doesn't come out in the press.

"And these people (supporters) didn't know I was going to do this (news conference.) But you know what, we have the media here. There are some very good people of the media here, actually. And I think it should be explained."

Trump said he was also surprised to hear about the remains of thousands of immigrants that have been discovered in the brush country in South Texas.

"And many people are dying. The danger of living here, unless you know exactly what you're doing, is tremendous. And the people back home never hear about them. They start the walk, thinking that Houston is half a mile away, but it's 300 miles." 

Trump said a border wall would help prevent immigrants from entering the United States and would actually serve as a humanitarian effort in saving lives.

The president left San Antonio for Houston, where he took part in a roundtable discussion with supporters and attended a fundraising committee dinner. 

You can watch the news conference in its entirety below:


About the Authors:

David Ibañez has been managing editor of KSAT.com since the website's launch in October 2000.

Jessie Degollado has been with KSAT since 1984. She is a general assignments reporter who covers a wide variety of stories. Raised in Laredo and as an anchor/reporter at KRGV in the Rio Grande Valley, Jessie is especially familiar with border and immigration issues. In 2007, Jessie also was inducted into the San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame.