Six Republican presidential candidates lined up to speak at a Faith and Freedom Coalition forum hosted by Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, on Sunday afternoon. Donald Trump was not one of them. Surprisingly, or perhaps not, the topics of illegal immigration and border security were not discussed by those who were there.
The candidates; Carly Fiorina, Ted Cruz, Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson, and Jeb Bush, came and went from the stage and interview never mentioning one of the biggest issues before the Texas voters they were addressing – the Texas border with Mexico. Instead the candidates fielded softball questions from the host and moderator, Dr. Jack Graham, on topics like Obamacare, religious liberty, judicial activism, the role of faith in the candidate’s life and decision-making, and being a Washington outsider.
The candidates had ten minutes to discuss whatever they wanted to mention. That presentation was followed by a ten to fifteen minute interview with Dr. Graham.
Illegal immigration and border security have certainly been topics of discussion in past election cycles, but Donald Trump brought the issue front and center as a major issue of the 2016 campaign. However, Trump’s absence from this event seemed to let the other candidates off the hook from discussing the issue.
Breitbart Texas provided extensive coverage of all of the candidate’s speeches and interviews on Sunday. The only thing close to immigration came when former Florida Governor Jeb Bush mentioned the importance of lifting everyone up. This was perhaps a wink and nod to his amnesty plans for millions of people who are currently in illegal alien status.
Texans were deprived of the opportunity of hearing candidates talk about the inhumane treatment of women and children who are being smuggled into the United States, often through Texas. Many of these women and young girls get sold into sexual slavery to pay off their debts to the drug cartels, as Breitbart Texas has previously reported.
Unfortunately, with Donald Trump absent from the forum, Texas voters were left out of the discussion of illegal immigration and border security.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas and is a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.
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