First Oklahoma visit since 2020; Lankford cites inflation, gas prices
President Donald Trump was scheduled to campaign in Texas and Oklahoma on Thursday, traveling with Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., on his first visit to Oklahoma since 2020.
The trip comes as multiple recent polls have indicated that voters blame Trump and the Republican congressional majority for inflation, and as Trump said in early September that he would limit his campaign travel to candidates in competitive races. Oklahoma has not been considered competitive in federal contests; Trump won every county in the state in each of his presidential runs.
Lankford said he would fly with the president from Washington to Denton, Texas, in the Dallas area, where Trump planned to visit a factory in the afternoon. From there, Trump and his entourage were to travel about 90 miles north to Durant, Oklahoma, for an evening rally at the Choctaw Event Center.
The Choctaw Event Center said it would open the doors around 2 p.m. The president’s speech was scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. CDT, with other speakers starting at 4 p.m. Hundreds of people waited in line outside the venue as rain fell throughout the day; rain and thunderstorms were forecast through 8 p.m.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Mazzei was also scheduled to appear at the rally.
“We always appreciate the president coming,” Lankford told KOTV-TV in Tulsa. “I’m actually traveling with the president today. I’m in D.C. I’ll leave out with him. I’ll come into Durant with him and travel with him all day long today, so it’ll be a great day. There’s a lot that we’ve got to be able to cover, but it’ll be a fun rally for the folks that are coming.”
Lankford identified inflation, gas prices, beef imports and interest rates as the top issues facing Republican candidates. He placed responsibility for current inflation on former President Joe Biden.
“We are very concerned about just over 3% inflation; people feel that,” Lankford said. “They feel that in the gas prices and where things are. But I think some people forget under the Biden administration it was 9% inflation, not 3%. So it’s come down dramatically. It still has a long way to go.”
Inflation stood at 3% at the end of Biden’s term in January 2025, down from a peak rate of 9.1% in June 2022.
“We’ve got to get gas prices down, because that literally affects everyone,” Lankford said. “Diesel prices affect every product out there, starting at the farm and everything is transported.”
Trump said in early September that he planned to campaign for midterm candidates but indicated it would only be for those in close races. The Oklahoma races are not seen as competitive, given that Trump won every county in the state in his presidential runs.
The state’s Democratic Party, in a statement last week, said: “As Trump’s approval rating sinks to an all-time low, Oklahoma Republicans are suddenly hiding their allegiance to the deeply unpopular president while Oklahomans make it clear they don’t want any more of their costly policies that are making life unaffordable in Oklahoma.”
Trump recorded a video message to the people of Oklahoma that Lankford posted on X. In the post, Lankford said, “Thank you, President Trump, for the kind words and for sending your greetings to Oklahomans heading to the Tulsa State Fair. It kicks off tomorrow, and if you’re there, make sure to stop by and say hello to the great folks at the Tulsa County GOP booth!”