'A waste of nine minutes': Trump speech draws frustrated reaction in El Paso

AUSTIN —  In a nine-minute address to the American public on Tuesday night, President Donald Trump painted an alarming picture of the shared border between the United States and Mexico, one of violence and drug trafficking that he said could only be handled with a border wall. 

"This barrier is absolutely critical to border security," Trump said in his speech. "It's also what our professionals at the border want and need. This is just common sense."

Trump's speech offered no new details about his proposal for a wall or new information about when the ongoing government shutdown would end. But it did anger leaders in El Paso, who jumped to defend the border and offer their own perspective on the nation's security.

More:Stop hysteria about border wall, El Paso lawmakers say about Trump plan, federal shutdown

"It really was a waste of nine minutes," said Tony Payan, director of the Baker Institute's Mexico Center at Rice University. 

Trump focused on appealing to his base instead of attempting to win over people who may be on the fence about a wall or connect with residents of border communities, Payan said.

His speech relied on the same remarks about the need for a border wall he has used since his presidential campaign, including exaggerations and misstatements. 

For example, Trump stressed the dangers of drug trafficking in his speech and said the opioid crisis is fueled by drugs that enter the country through the border. He didn't acknowledge that the vast majority of these drugs enter the country at ports of entry, not in vast stretches between entryways where his proposed wall would be the primary defense.

"We know that in El Paso you can walk around at three in the morning, even in the darkest alleys and you're fairly safe," Payan said, noting that Trump's characterization of the border as a scary place doesn't resonate with people there. 

"That may be convincing to people in West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania, but it's very difficult to make that case the closer you are to the border," he said.

Leaders in El Paso, who have long railed against the president's border security proposals, looked to defend their hometown after the speech. Many pointed to a significant gap between Trump's understanding of the border and the reality in the community they know. 

Democrat Beto O'Rourke, the former El Paso congressman who many in his party hope will run for president in 2020, started streaming a video live on Facebook as he walked down his street in Sunset Heights with his wife Amy O'Rourke. 

O'Rourke turned the camera to face down his street and focused on a collection of lights that could be seen on the horizon. 

"That's Juarez," he said. "That's Mexico." 

O'Rourke said if people came to El Paso to experience the city, the fear, anxiety and paranoia Trump "seeks to stoke and instill, I think all of that would melt." 

"You just have to be here and see it to believe it," he said.

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, said leaders from the border region have always been responsible for speaking out against misinformation and inaccurate characterizations of their communities — a responsibility that can sometimes be exhausting.

"It's harmful to communities like ours, harmful to our efforts at economic development," she said in an interview. "We are vibrant, safe, beautiful communities that are important to the national economy. We are part of the national solution. What we witness in El Paso is incredible compassion, generosity and kindness." 

"People like Donald Trump can learn many lessons from El Pasoans," she said.

U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, a Republican whose district stretches from San Antonio to east El Paso, also stressed the safety of the border during an interview on CNN on Tuesday night. He could not be reached Wednesday.

He said Trump and others try "to act like this is some scary drug cartel movie back in the day,”but the reality is that the border has “some of the safest communities in the United States of America.”

“The reality is, yes, there are people sneaking into our country,” he said in the interview. “We can stop that if we have smart solutions, and that’s only going to be reliant on technology.”

Other Republicans were more supportive of Trump's remarks. 

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who traveled to Washington D.C. on Tuesday to assist Trump in crafting his message to the nation, said the president is "absolutely right that Congress must pass his common sense border security bill and end this very real crisis at our southern border."

"In Texas, illegal immigration costs state taxpayers billions of dollars every year in healthcare, education and law enforcement costs," he said in a statement. "Texans see first-hand the tragedies that take place at our border every day. No one should have to die trying to come to America."

More:Veronica Escobar, freshman from Texas, will be a key part in the House's border battle

Jon Barela, chief executive officer of the Borderplex Alliance, said he hopes Trump will visit El Paso. The president is scheduled to make a trip to McAllen on Thursday. 

“We would welcome the president to come to El Paso and see how our region is a model in how you conduct binational commerce, how you reduce crime rates and how you create border security through economic opportunity,” Barela said.

While Barela said the border is "not a dangerous and lawless frontier," he hopes lawmakers will come to the table to address border security needs outside a physical barrier.

“Migration patterns and border security is not an issue which lends itself towards unilateral action,” Barela said. “We need to engage in a multilateral fashion and engage in a long-term course of action to create economic opportunity which will lead to a safer border and to a better strategic position for our country and our continent.”

Madlin Mekelburg is a reporter with the USA Today Network Austin Bureau; she may be reached at 512-479-6606; mmekelburg@elpasotimes.com; @madlinbmek on Twitter.