Speaker A
Hi everybody, I'm Britney Lewis, a breaking news reporter here at Forbes. Joining me now is Eric Flores. He's a Republican candidate for the House seat in Texas's 34th Congressional District.
Eric Flores, a Trump-backed Texas congressional candidate, discusses border security, immigration policies, and key issues for District 34.
Ask about this video. Answers come from its transcript only — with the timestamp, so you can check them.
Generated from the transcript and can be wrong — check the timestamp.
Key Takeaways
- Eric Flores positions himself as a service-oriented candidate with strong support for Trump-backed immigration policies.
- Border security remains a critical issue for South Texas, with ongoing challenges in narcotics and gun trafficking.
- The recent Texas special election signals challenges for Republicans but also motivation to engage voters in midterms.
- Public opinion on immigration enforcement is mixed, with some calls for a softer approach alongside strong border security.
- Flores aims to address both immigration and economic issues like housing and workforce development in his campaign.
What the video covers
- Eric Flores is a Republican candidate for Texas's 34th Congressional District with a background as a veteran and former assistant US attorney.
- Flores emphasizes his service background and support for President Trump’s agenda, including border security and constitutional defense.
- He reacts to a recent Texas special election where a Democrat flipped a historically Republican seat, calling it a wakeup call for Republicans.
- Flores highlights border security as a top issue, noting a 50-year low in apprehensions under Trump but stresses the need to combat narcotics and gun trafficking.
- He criticizes the Biden administration’s immigration policies, citing 24 million illegal aliens entering under open border policies.
- Flores supports law enforcement agencies like Border Patrol and federal prosecutors to enforce immigration laws effectively.
- He discusses broader economic concerns such as affordable housing, workforce support, and grocery affordability for Americans.
- Flores addresses mixed public opinions on immigration enforcement tactics and comments on President Trump’s recent remarks about a softer approach.
- He pledges to bring firsthand experience to Congress rather than just ideas, focusing on practical solutions for his district.
- Flores expresses confidence in Republican recovery in upcoming midterms and stresses integrity and duty in public service.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction and Candidate Background
- 01:09Support for Trump and Republican Agenda
- 02:29Reaction to Texas Special Election Results
- 03:32Campaign Priorities: Border Security and Economy
- 04:35Immigration Policy and Border Security Details
- 05:51Public Opinion on Immigration Enforcement
- 08:13Addressing Immigration Enforcement Controversies
- 13:03Experience and Vision for Congress
- 15:16Economic Issues and Voter Engagement
- 16:44Closing Remarks and Campaign Outlook
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
Eric, thank you so much for joining me. Absolutely. Thanks for having me on. I would love to start off the conversation by ticking off some bullet points on your resume. You're a veteran, a former assistant US attorney. Now
Speaker A
you're jumping into politics. So to start off, why exactly did you decide to run for Congress?
Speaker A
Uh, great question. So along the trail, I have been saying that I'm not a politician. I'm a service member. You know, I've served this country for over a decade, whether that's in uniform on Operation Guardian Support. Uh, in the
Speaker A
federal courtroom as an assistant United States attorney with the criminal division in McAllen. Um, and now as an attorney, I represent several governmental entities. But you know what brings me to the race? It is my
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service. It is, you know, once again I'm looking to serve this country and raise my hand for the third time to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. It is time to send a service
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member to Congress to support President Donald Trump, who I'm honored and privileged to have his endorsement as well as Speaker Johnson, move forward this really important agenda not only for the country but for the constituents of District 34.
Speaker A
And before we get into some of those issues that really matter most to you, I want to get your reaction to some big news out of Texas over the weekend and see if that changed your strategy at all
Speaker A
because we saw the results of a special election race in Texas. It was described as a political earthquake. Republicans in your state said that this was a wakeup call for the party. A Democrat flipped a state senate seat in a
Speaker A
district that not only President Trump won in 2024 by 17 points. The Democrat won it by 14 points. So there was an over 30 point swing and this is a district a Democrat hasn't won in the state senate in four decades. So to
Speaker A
start off, what's your reaction there? Look, you know, when we jumped in this race, you know, it's all about being methodical and deliberate, and that's what we need to continue to do in the midterms, you know. So, I, you know, of
Speaker A
course, we lost that race as the Republican party, but I encourage all of the Republicans in Texas, you know, to definitely be energized, to be motivated, you know, coming into these midterm cycles. It's important that we continue to engage, that we continue to
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motivate everybody around us to ensure that something like that does not come November 4th.
Speaker A
Do you think that that's a sign for bigger things to come? I mean, does that concern you at all? Because not only were Republicans in your state talking about this, I mean, nationwide Republicans were talking about this.
Speaker A
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was sounding the alarm, other Republicans as well. What did, what do you make of that?
Speaker A
Look, I think it serves as a great wakeup call. Um, you know, it was just a very unique circumstance and that this election was held, right? It was a special election. We all know that those circumstances are very, very different.
Speaker A
You know, the gentleman who won, he won't even be able to cast a vote. He'll just solely be able to take that, you know, oath. But I have full confidence in the Republican party as well as President Donald J. Trump, Governor
Speaker A
Abbott, come the midterms in November that we will get that seat back. So, let's talk about your race. I'm curious, what are some of those top issues? What do you really want to work on?
Speaker A
Look, myself, um, when I jumped in the race, I said, you know, there was a bunch of what I call punchline candidates. So, let's kind of walk through that. You know, we have folks that say, "Well, border security." Well,
Speaker A
you know, the first question that I ask is, "Well, what does that person know about border security?" So, border security is still a very important issue for us down here in South Texas, even though President Donald J. Trump has
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brought us to a secure border, you know, a 50-year all-time low with apprehensions. But we need to increase that. We need to continue to keep it up.
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You know, as we're seeing less apprehensions, we are seeing a little bit more, you know, trafficking in the narcotics range when it comes to fentanyl to cocaine and the gun trafficking as well. So, we need to
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continue to enforce those laws that are in place, support law enforcement, whether it be border patrol agents or federal prosecutors. I, myself being a former federal prosecutor, know what good policy and bad policy look like. So, we
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need to continue to support them there. And then of course, you know, we have some big issues, you know, we need to focus on the workforce down here in South Texas. We need to continue to support our farmers. We need to, you know,
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ensure that housing be affordable for our Americans so, you know, folks in my generation can look forward to purchasing their own home and starting their family. Most importantly, when they go to the grocery stores, we need to make sure that Americans are being,
Speaker A
you know, are afforded the opportunity to buy affordable groceries. Those continue to be the top issues for Americans and for voters. Immigration and the economy. Let's start with immigration because I've talked to members of Congress, lawmakers, politicians all over the country. And
Speaker A
when we talk about border security, some have said every state is a border state.
Speaker A
Texas is actually a border state, though. And I know you said that statistic that in fiscal year 2025, there was a record or 50-year low of encounters at the border. This is drastically different than what we saw
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during the Biden administration, right? There were record high encounters at the border during those years. You're saying there's still work to be done, but the border is secure right now. I mean, how does this exactly impact your
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district? Look, I think it is great, you know, to finally see the laws enforced right on under the Obama and failed Joe Biden administration. You know, he allowed, as well as, you know, the incumbent right now, Vicente Gonzalez, voting for
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open borders. You know, they allowed 24 million illegal aliens into this country. You know, what I call the conduit of chaos, right? Title 42, catch and release, the one pass, right? Um, you know, all of these
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measures is what we are seeing, you know, 24 million illegal aliens in this country now under President Donald J. Trump and the great leadership of Border Patrol, you know, the border is secure, you know, so we are not seeing,
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you know, the ravishing coming through our communities, through the farmlands, through the riverfronts, you know, through the ranches. Um, so, you know, it has been a drastic change with that.
Speaker A
Uh, and, you know, we're absolutely fortunate to have, you know, now the men and women in Border Patrol and the prosecutors, you know, doing the jobs that they were there to do, which is enforce the law.
Speaker A
CBP had the number of border crossings of undocumented migrants, the encounters there closer to 11 million.
Speaker A
But I do want to zoom out and talk about immigration as a whole because a recent poll from Fox News shows mixed numbers on immigration. Right? 52% of voters, the majority of voters approve of how President Trump has handled border
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security, but 55% disapprove of his handling of immigration overall. And 59% of voters think that ICE's tactics are too aggressive, especially when what we've seen play out in Minneapolis. Just today, President Trump had an interview with NBC News. He
Speaker A
was asked about what he learned in Minneapolis, and he said that his administration could maybe use, quote, a softer touch in its immigration enforcement operations. What do you make of those numbers? What do you make of President Trump kind of changing c...
Speaker A
here a little bit? Maybe saying, you know, we could turn down the temperature. We could use what he said a softer touch.
Speaker A
Look, I think going back to the CBP number of 11 million is is, you know, that's it was far more than that. You know, I lived it firsthand. Uh for me, it wasn't a sound bite. I saw, you know,
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hundreds of apprehensions a day. I think it's much closer to 24 million. Um but going back to uh again I think what the me you know what I call the mainstream media has done is really convoluted three issues here right you know you
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have border security and the fact is is that when people want to come into this country they have to come here illegally right so the minute that you do not use a authorized port of entry and do not
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have the permission of the you know secretary of homeland security the attorney general of the United States you have already committed an offense right then we have our workforce right which we know we do have folks that come
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in to the country legally via the, you know, H-1B visa to work here, which I consider that the second facet. And then the third facet is our immigration system. You know, our immigration system is currently broken. And I think
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President, you know, Donald J. Trump as well as Speaker Johnson, you know, they're attemp they're attempting to reform that. Oftent times, I think the mainstream media convolute all of those three issues. Um, and that's kind of what we're seeing in the media now. um
Speaker A
you know the ICE you know when we talk about some of the operations that are taking place with ICE again that is a response you know to allowing 24 million illegal aliens or even if you go back to
Speaker A
you know the CBP reported number 11 million that is still far too many people that have been allowed to enter this country illegally you know those ICE agents that are out there in Minnesota they are conducting legal enforcement operations identifying those
Speaker A
that have broken uh the law here in the United States. I know when you say the mainstream media is convoluting these things. I'm curious because even President Trump said, you know, maybe we could have used a softer touch here. It's not just Democrats
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saying this. Joe Rogan said he he said he felt queasy about essentially that wasn't the word he used, but he said, "I feel like I like the Gestapo here. I don't like how aggressive ISIS is being.
Speaker A
I'm seeing these videos and I don't like it. The comedian Andrew Schultz who interviewed President Trump before his election, he said, you know, I really don't like what I'm seeing right now.
Speaker A
So, it's not just one particular party. I mean, these numbers are showing Republicans aren't too happy with how ICE is acting. Do you think that there needs to be a tamp down in temperatures right now when it comes to how ICE
Speaker A
agents are acting or when it comes to any of that type of immigration operation?
Speaker A
Look, I think some of the situations that have occurred, right, um, they appear, you know, to be very aggressive in nature. Um, but I think again, we're only seeing, you know, myself as being a previous investigator, you know, as a
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federal prosecutor, you know, a lot of those things are going to be investigated fully, right? But here are the facts. The facts are is that you had citizens that were disrupting lawful operations, right? If you see see some
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of the these videos, right? We had one person who weaponized their vehicle against an agent, right, where she was not interrupting just for 30 seconds as the video showed, right? She was there since the beginning of the morning, you
Speaker A
know, interdicting in a lawful I are you I just have to interrupt you right there because it did look like and I've watched the video. I would love and we could talk about this when there's a fuller investigation, right? But it did
Speaker A
look like she was turning her car the other way. And if you watch the uh video, it appeared to be either body cam or a cell phone uh video of the agent there. She was talking to him calmly.
Speaker A
She pulls the car around. He ends is turning the car. It looks like she was shot multiple times and then that agent, it appeared based on what we could hear, we couldn't see him say this, but we could hear someone, it appeared to be
Speaker A
him, call her an effing b- word. He didn't bleep that out. I did. I mean, is that an appropriate way to act? Do you think that that is too aggressive?
Speaker A
Look, I think the best thing in this situation, right, to to ensure that all of us remain calm, cool, and collected is to allow the investigators to do their job. Um, to allow the agents who are going to investigate that, to allow
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the prosecutors, to allow OPM and OPR do just that, investigate the facts to see whether the situation was handled appropriately or not.
Speaker A
And I know that you've said you've worked on the border before. You're coming to Congress or you would want to come to Congress obviously representing Texas from Texas. You said that, you know, border or um immigration in this
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country is broken. What perspective could you bring? How could you fix that? Look, we are um again, we're a border town. You know, I I say we are at the tip of the spear. If you look at the
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case load that the Macallen division alone or the Southern District alone carries, uh it's 36%. It is a huge huge number. So I I bring a very unique perspective. I don't bring sound bites to Congress, you know, that I've heard
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off of the media, right? I bring firsthand experiences when it comes to uh border immigration enforcement policy. I understand the needs of the farmers. I understand the needs of the ranchers. I understand the needs of the homebuilders, right? You know, we have a
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champion down here in South Texas, Congresswoman de la Cruz, who is championing based program 2.0, you know, who is trying to get the workforce that South Texas needs, but there's also a balance with that when it comes to
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border immigration enforcement. So, that is what I'm looking to take to Congress, right? Is firsthand experience, you know, not ideas, their experiences.
Speaker A
Another top issue, obviously the economy continues to be a top concern for Americans, and I'm sure the people of Texas. Recent polling shows a majority of Americans have a pessimistic outlook on the economy. Americans aren't feeling great about their current financial
Speaker A
situation. There's a lot of cons concerns about affordability for everyday items. How would you make life more affordable for your constituents?
Speaker A
Yeah. I So, look, we are one just over the year mark of uh President Donald Trump uh his second term, what I call T2.0. You know, he passed alongside Speaker Johnson the working family tax cuts, which is honestly a monumental
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piece of legis legislation, not only for the country, but for South Texas. We're going to start seeing more money in the Americans pockets. We're going to start seeing the support for the farmers as well as the veterans care. Um as well as
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having affordable groceries, right? no tax on tips. I think that is huge. You know, we are just at the year mark. I think at the end of his term, God willing, you know, we're successful in the midterms. They're not only going to
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be ideas, they're not only going to be talking points, as we're just talking here, um they're actually going to start feeling that. And the Americans, they are starting to feel that. We now see affordable gas prices. We're starting to
Speaker A
see grocery prices fall. Um and it's been great for for Americans. And so I'm looking to take that to to Congress and and champion that so it doesn't no longer is an idea, it's an experience for the Americans.
Speaker A
I know that in 2024, right, a big reason why Democrats lost is because people were saying, you know, I don't feel good about the economy. I don't feel good about my current financial situation.
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Democrats were saying, "Hold tight, hang tight." But that wasn't the reality of a lot of Americans, especially Americans living paycheck to paycheck. So, how soon do you think people will feel that relief? Because just numbers from the CPI and USDA show most grocery prices
Speaker A
are up. It's estimated overall food prices will be up by 3% this year. So, if I'm hearing that and I live paycheck to paycheck, which is a reality for so many Americans, that's been a reality for me. I'm thinking, you know, how much
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longer can I hold on? What would be your message for them? Look, I I would the message simply to Americans, but most importantly to Texas 34 is that help is already on the way.
Speaker A
You know, we see this monumental bill, right? The working uh for family tax cuts that has already passed. It is coming into motion. If we are already looking at the water treaty act that congresswoman de la President Donald
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Trump have already delivered, that was millions of dollars um to farmers and ranchers throughout, you know, the state of Texas. you know, help is already on the way. You know, these results are already on the way. You know, be patient
Speaker A
with us. You know, the economy, if we're looking at the numbers, we're seeing the job growth, especially in South Texas.
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It is booming. We have LNG that is booming, whether it's at the port of Brownsville or the Port of Corpus Christi. We're starting to see jobs increase. We have SpaceX as well. Um, so, you know, be patient with us. It is
Speaker A
coming. Um, and these are just not ideas. They are already happening. This uh 34th congressional district in Texas is one that was redrawn over the summer, but it's currently represented by a Democrat in Congress, Vicente Gonzalez. He outperformed President
Speaker A
Harris in 2024. This is a district, but once again, before it was redrawn, that Harris lost, Trump won, but a Democrat in Congress won. Does that concern you at all?
Speaker A
No, absolutely not. you know, President Trump won, you know, pretty much all those four surrounding counties down there in South Texas, which were historically Democrat, as you just said, right? Let's take Willys, Hidalgo, Cameron, Star County. President Trump
Speaker A
won all of those districts in a all those counties, excuse me, in a historic fashion. But unfortunately, we had a nominee who had already lost twice, underperforming the president, right?
Speaker A
and she could just not get, you know, her message across and resonate with the voters because there was no substance.
Speaker A
You know, when you have a career candidate who is just running time after time again, you know, that just doesn't resonate with the American, you know, worker, with the American, you know, constituent who is, as you said, living
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from paycheck to paycheck. All they have to do is simply see there's a career candidate, you know, who's living off of campaign funds. You know, that's not what South Texas wants. South Texas want somebody, you know, of substance, who
Speaker A
has a resume, who has leadership skills, you know, to go and represent them in DC.
Speaker A
Eric, I know that when you were taking off your resume, I was struck by your past, whether it be serving in the military or as an attorney. Those are two positions that you're going in and you're not asking people beforehand,
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hey, what member, what party are you? Are you a Democrat or you a Republican?
Speaker A
especially if you're in the military, you are protecting people from both sides of the aisle. So, I'm curious, and I usually ask people this when they're running a campaign, when they're jumping into politics. Where is a place that you
Speaker A
think you could work across the aisle? Where's a place where you could work with Democrats?
Speaker A
Look, that is um it's pretty simple, right? We always have to support our men and women in law enforcement. We always need to have the backs of, you know, our men and women who are serving our country in uniform across all branches.
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You know, we we need to make sure that we continue to protect our senior citizens and we need to make sure that we are being good stewards of the taxpayer dollar because they are paying, you know, Americans on fixed incomes are
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giving 100%, you know, of their paying 100% of their taxes. That means us as congressional leaders, as elected officials, we also need to be giving 100% of our effort as well and serving them with integrity and with duty.
Speaker A
The district you're running for is redrawn. Texas redrrew their congressional map over the summer.
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California redrew their congressional map to directly counteract Texas's. Texas's, as we know, has the potential to flip five blue districts red.
Speaker A
California's direct directly counteracts that. It will have the potential to flip five red seats blue and the Supreme Court is allowing the California map to be used. So, I'm curious, what do you make of this redistricting fight that we
Speaker A
saw play out nationwide? A and B, I know that your district was redrawn, but you've received some criticism that you don't actually live in that district. I mean, what do you make of that criticism? How do you respond?
Speaker A
Yeah, so we'll start there. my my family and I just moved into the district. Uh before redistricting, it was um it encompassed county, uh the county that I was living in. So, you know, those criticisms, I think, are are easily
Speaker A
answered. Both my wife and I uh now live in Congressional District 34, and we're happy uh to tell the voters that, you know, when it comes to redistricting, it is something that u the highest court of the land has already upheld. Um and when
Speaker A
that has happened, you know, myself as a practitioner, um you know, it has been cleared by the highest court, which is the Supreme Court of the United States, uh holding that it was a lawful, uh redistricting.
Speaker A
And then my last question to you is I'm curious what's next for your campaign.
Speaker A
Look, the momentum is absolutely uh tremendous. We have earned the endorsements of President Donald J.
Speaker A
Trump, Speaker Johnson, you know, majority whip, the majority leader, Mr. Emmer, and Mr. Scaliz. Uh, and one that um that I cherish as well is the National Border Patrol Council. You know, I was in the trench with Border
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Patrol agents when they were being, you know, punched in the gut, when they were being demonized. I was with them standing shouldertosh shoulder. Um, and you know, the those endorsements are absolutely um awesome. I'm honored to have them. But, you know, now it is for
Speaker A
me, it's time to earn the endorsement of the voters down here in the district, all from the northern portion to the southern portion, uh, to show them that I am the most qualified candidate to go up to DC to represent them. Again, it's,
Speaker A
you know, we're not running on sound bites. We're not running on, you know, campaign slogans, America first. We're running on credentials. We're running on experience. We're running on proven leadership. So, what's next for our campaign is to continue to build the
Speaker A
momentum and win uh come the general. Eric Flores, I really appreciate the time today. Best of luck to you and your campaign and I hope you can join me again soon.
Speaker A
No, absolutely. Thanks for having me on and it was absolutely great. Thanks so much.
Topics:Eric FloresTexas 34th Congressional DistrictRepublican candidateDonald Trumpborder securityimmigration policyTexas politicsmidterm electionsBiden administrationlaw enforcement
