Trump visiting Texas/Mexico border on Thursday

But if it’s this easy for someone like The Donald to expose the other candidates’ major collective weakness, they have something to worry about – even after Trump’s 15 minutes of front-runner status runs out.

A local border patrol union pulled out of events involving Donald Trump on Thursday as the Republican presidential contender charged ahead with plans to visit the Mexican border to highlight his hardline stance on illegal immigration.

He’ll address the law enforcement community at a local reception hall.

“A lot of what is happening here is because of the fact that Mexico is doing so well, it is just doing beyond what anybody thought”. Pressed on whether he would run as a third-party candidate if he fails to clinch the GOP nomination, Trump said that “so many people want me to, if I don’t win.”

At Laredo’s World Trade Bridge, where a long line of 18-wheelers queued up to enter the United States, Mr. Trump spent half an hour meeting with local leaders – none of whom seemed eager to endorse his signature prescription for border security. “It can only be assumed that there are things the politicians in Washington do not want Americans to see or discuss. It shows that we are not even safe in our own country”.

His visit to Laredo should be a living lesson not only about our real border security challenges, but also about the important relationships between the United States and Mexico.

Trump is scheduled to arrive in Laredo on Thursday. He snapped, “I hope he can find the border because I’m not sure he’s ever been there before”.

But a border patrol union announced a boycott of Trump’s visit “after careful consideration of all the factors involved”.

Some chanted “fuera”, telling him to get out; a supporter waved a sign, “no era insulto”, meaning his remarks about immigrants that touched off a feud with Republican rivals were not an insult.

“The RNC (Republican National Committee) has not been supportive”, Trump told The Hill. Mr. Trump accused unnamed officials in Washington of trying to silence them. “I was their fair-haired boy”.

On Fox News, Rubio said of Trump: “I don’t think the way he has behaved over the past few weeks is either dignified or worthy of the office he seeks”.

“Treat him like any other candidate”, said Ron Kaufman, who was a senior adviser to 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney and who now supports Bush. And some agents harbor lingering concerns about Trump’s understanding of the issue of illegal immigration.

“I’m the only one that speaks their language”, Trump said of the border patrol agents in an interview with CNN earlier this month. However, his poll performance suggests that he is exciting the party base more than anything. I’m not surrounded by all sorts of pollsters and PR people.

“He’s not a war hero”, Trump said.

“During today’s Hardball, Chris Matthews said that the Republican “roar of disapproval” was much more tangible now than it was when they were “[enjoying] the clown act” in which Trump attacked President Obama.

Yet Trump, who has become a dominant force in the 2016 contest, has clearly stated, over and over again, that Mexican immigrants are unwelcome.