Donald Trump has arrived in Austin. He's taping a town hall event at ACL Live at the Moody Theater from 4 to 6 p.m. Afterward, he'll head to a fundraiser at 6:30 p.m. at the Headliners Club, then on to a rally at the Travis County Expo Center at 7:30 p.m.
Trump has concluded his remarks, though you can watch the archived event:
8:49 p.m.– Just over 45 minutes into his address, Trump has been interrupted three times, two of which happened back-to-back, tweet's KUT's Ben Philpott:
There have been a couple of ejections so far tonight. Now several back to back and right behind @realDonaldTrump.
— Ben Philpott (@BenPhilpottKUT) August 24, 2016
So far, his speech has alluded to the recent shootings of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, citing the shootings as proof of a need for a "law and order candidate." He's also his touted his ability to create jobs and pivoted to his recent appeal to black voters, asking, "What have you got to lose?"
But, the biggest crowd response came after the mention of Hillary Clinton's email scandal.
The Travis County Expo Center is at capacity for the Trump event. #TrumpinATX
— Austin Police Department (@Austin_Police) August 24, 2016
7:58 p.m. — Donald Trump is expected to take the stage soon:
6:48 p.m. — Trump's rally is apparently packing the Travis County Expo Center:
No more parking available at the Travis County Expo Center for Presidential candidate Donald Trump's visit. #atxtraffic
— Austin Police Department (@Austin_Police) August 23, 2016
Dana and Debbie - Texas Twins for Trump #TrumpInATX pic.twitter.com/mHFUD1fb5p
— Ben Philpott (@BenPhilpottKUT) August 23, 2016
6:13 p.m. —Trump is scheduled to be at the Headliners Club at Sixth and Lavaca for a 6:30 p.m. fundraiser. Expect some traffic disruptions in that area, and then along his route to the Expo Center later this evening.
Reminder: Expect delays in Downtown Austin until about 7 p.m. for GOP Presidential Candidate Donald Trump's visit. #atxtraffic
— Austin Police Department (@Austin_Police) August 23, 2016
About 90 mins until @realDonaldTrump's event begins. The arena is filling up. #trumpinatx pic.twitter.com/XGkxbo4hFN
— Ben Philpott (@BenPhilpottKUT) August 23, 2016
5:45 p.m. — Over at ACL Live at the Moody Theater, Trump is wrapping up a two-hour town hall event with Fox News. The Texas Tribune reports Trump discussed his immigration plan and told host Sean Hannity he was open to a "softening" of laws dealing with people in the country illegally, in contrast to his hardline stance during the GOP primaries:
"Is there any part of the law that you might be able to change that would accommodate those people that contribute to society, have been law-abiding, have kids here?" Hannity asked. "Would there be any rule in your mind?" "There certainly can be a softening because we're not looking to hurt people," Trump said in his response. "We want people — we have some great people in this country." "We are going to follow the laws of this country," Trump added.
5:36 p.m. — KUT's Ben Philpott talks with KUT's All Things Considered host Nathan Bernier about the scene at the Travis County Expo and the backdrop for Trump's visit to Austin:
5:21 p.m. — We're live from the Travis County Expo Center on Facebook:
5:08 p.m. — Travis County GOP Chairman Robert Morrow had signaled he would be out protesting the event. The county party has disavowed him, despite not being able to strip him of his chairmanship, to which he was elected in March. He was escorted from the grounds after carrying a sign reading "Trump is a child rapist." You can listen to audio of Morrow outside the Expo Center below.
Robert Morrow being asked to leave @realDonaldTrump rally at Travis County Expo Center. #texas #austin #trump @KUT pic.twitter.com/gQ2LSugOMP
— Miguel Gutierrez Jr. (@mgutierrezjr) August 23, 2016
4:51 p.m. – There was plenty of commotion outside the ACL Moody Theater leading up the GOP presidential nominee's event with Fox News' Sean Hannity this afternoon. Protests started in earnest a few hours before at around 2 p.m.
Doors for the event opened at around 3 p.m., shortly after Trump landed at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and his motorcade began making its way through Austin traffic, causing plenty of congestion:
Meanwhile, KUT's Ben Philpott and Mose Buchele were waiting outside the Expo Center.
Ben set the scene outside the East Austin venue, noting around 1,000 would-be attendees and plenty of merchants hocking Trump merchandise:
Shortly after that communique, Ben and Mose took to Facebook Live to talk to some Trump-supporting attendees.
