Summer Trump RV road trip planned by Texas AG Commissioner Sid Miller
AUSTIN, Texas - Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is hitting the road this summer to help campaign for Donald Trump.
The modified RV that Miller will be traveling in immediately raised questions about who is paying for the campaign trips to several presidential swing states. It's been called the "Gas and Grocery Truth Tour."
"I just sat around, cowboy logic, one day, and I said, you know, if you're going to keep Donald Trump off the campaign trail, either keep him in the courtroom of the jailhouse or both. So, he needs some surrogate speakers out there," said Miller.
The back of the RV includes an image of Miller and a list of presidential swing states he plans to start visiting in August.
"The goal is to move 1% of the vote. If we move 1% and all the swing states, Donald Trump wins all the swing states," said Miller.
The announcement immediately raised questions about how Miller would pay for the road trip.
"We got very generous donors from all over the United States, getting a co-chairman in each one of the swing states, they're helping raise money. I'm raising money," said Miller, who went on to say no Texas tax dollars will be used.
Miller declined to say how much he plans to spend on his summer road trip. But one accounting misstep could bring a quick ethics complaint, according to political analyst Brian Smith from St. Edward’s University.
"He's going to have to keep very tight books on this showing where the money came from, how it was spent, and how it was separate from any kind of budget that he already has," said Smith.
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On social media, support and push back have been posted.
"He has to understand that what plays in Texas might not play in those other battleground states," said Smith.
Polls show that voters are concerned about the economy and there is a justification for Miller to target swing states. But Smith doubts the trips may not swing how people feel about the two top candidates.
"Maybe not swing people on the issues but swing people out to vote. That's what 2024 is going to be all about. It's going to be a turnout election. Which party does a better job getting the base out? And for the Republicans, that base starts in battleground states, not the big cities in those states, but in the agricultural areas. And that's why I said Miller is going to be hitting those states in his RV and hitting them hard," said Smith.
Commissioner Sid Miller is not up for re-election, and the state legislature is not in session. But Smith noted, Tropical Alberto is a reminder that hurricane season is here.
"So, he's got the right amount of timing to do this. But he has to be very careful because if anything goes wrong in Texas, and he's not here, he's going to get blamed for abandoning his post," said Smith.
Miller is not worried about pushback.
"We're not leaving anything undone. I'm continuing to do my job," said Miller.
The reward for this summer RV trip could be a trip to DC this winter. In 2016, Miller was on the shortlist to be Trump's Secretary of Agriculture. At that time, he lost out to former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue.