Rick Perry: The Border Governor Forced to Answer for Donald Trump

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry salutes the audience at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa, United States, July 18, 2015.

Perry was mocked by Democrats after photos ran nationally from that day that showed him biting into a corndog in what some labeled a sexually suggestive way.

“Our country was founded by incredibly visionary people”, Perry said in his speech at the Des Moines Register’s Soapbox stage. He was going to “do something about it”. One woman presented to him a coin with his image from the past campaign, indicating her loyalty to the former governor.

As for his own campaign staff, Perry admitted that none of them were now being paid due to fundraising problems.

What was supposed to be his comeback campaign in 2016 has instead transformed into a low-profile struggle to remain relevant. At the time of the transactions, Paxton was a member of the Texas House.

And, he said, “this is about who’s got the best ideas and the record, and whether it’s the job creation record or wearing the uniform of the country, or whether it’s knowing how to secure the border of this country with Mexico”.

He didn’t criticize Trump, as he has in the past (a guaranteed way to make news) or wade into the hot issue of this week: birthright citizenship. Saying “no” could lose him conservative support at a time when immigration has hit a nerve with the conservative electorate. “Everything goes back to that”, Perry said in varying forms repeatedly.

“I know that we can put in place policies that will free Americans from overtaxation”, Perry said, “and it starts with breaking up that cabal in Washington, D.C”.

Afterward, in response to a reporter’s question, Perry said he considers the indictment as a “badge of honor against an absolute, out of control, district attorney” who was arrested for drunken driving at three times the legal limit for alcohol consumption.

“This was a piece of legislation that basically duplicated what’s at the federal level”, said Perry, who pointed out he agrees with equal pay for women.

At this point, however, it’s unclear if that is what voters are even really looking for.