Trump floats oil-rich Venezuela as America's '51st state' while showing off a million-barrel tanker at a Texas rally

Trump made his third trip to Texas in a month on Tuesday, staging rallies in Corpus Christi and Lubbock behind Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, who trails or ties Democrat James Talarico in most polls. Holding up a Venezuelan tanker he said was delivering one million barrels of oil as a "gift" to the US, Trump declared: "Maybe someday soon it'll become a prosperous 51st state." The race has grown into one of the most expensive Senate contests in the country, with combined primary and general election ad spending surpassing $563 million.

Elon Musk has steered at least $158 million in anti-Talarico money through the Senate Leadership Fund to the Texas PAC backing Paxton.

Across both rallies, Trump attacked Talarico, claiming he thinks Jesus would support 'sex changes for little children' — an allegation drawn from comments Talarico made at seminary concerning trans children.

Ken Paxton contributed to the night's awkward moments by telling the Corpus Christi audience that America was celebrating its '200th anniversary' on July 4 — the true figure was its 250th.