Texas Governor reveals the reason for his special working relationship with Trump
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In an interview with Fox News Digital, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, whose National Guard troops were recently deployed to support ICE operations in Chicago, revealed the “core reason” he has a good working relationship with the president: “We both believe in the rule of law.”
He explained: “President Trump and I have a good, long-term working relationship, and there is a fundamental reason behind that. We both believe in the rule of law. We both believe in public safety. We both believe in securing the border.”
Abbott said he and President Donald Trump are “working very closely to ensure that our country is safe.”
“I’m very happy to be a partner with the federal government and making sure we keep our country as safe as possible,” he added.
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, said his working relationship with President Donald Trump depends on their shared belief in public safety. (Shelby Tauber/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)
This comes as about 200 Texas National Guard soldiers are currently deployed in the Chicago area, tasked with protecting federal law enforcement officers as they conduct immigration enforcement operations.
Over the past few weeks, the Chicago area has been rocked by anti-ICE demonstrations, which on several occasions turned into violent unrest. Large crowds of what the Department of Homeland Security called “violent rioters” gathered outside an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, and repeatedly blocked federal vehicles from exiting and entering the facility. Earlier this month, 10 vehicles rammed into federal agents and surrounded them, as anti-ICE crowds gathered for days. Nearly ten people were arrested.
Despite this, DHS said its agents received little support from Illinois Democratic leaders or local and state law enforcement.
Against this backdrop, Abbott has allowed Trump to deploy 400 Texas National Guard troops to trouble spots across the country under Title 10 authority. So far, only about half of those troops have been deployed in Illinois, where a legal case against the deployment has reached federal court.
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Uniformed military personnel, with a Texas National Guard patch, are seen at the U.S. Army Reserve Center on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, in Elwood, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. (AFP/Laura Bargfield)
Speaking with Fox News Digital, Abbott said the deployment of Texas National Guard troops, which have gained peacekeeping experience through deployments to the southern border, was “normal.”
“What the National Guard is trained and adept at doing is dealing with civil unrest like that. They’ve dealt with civil unrest along the Texas border for the last four years when Joe Biden has been president. They’ve dealt with civil unrest even in locations in the state of Texas, when I thought it was important to call them out and make sure there weren’t any unrest in our state. So, these are National Guard Soldiers who are well trained to be able to to deal with this type of environment. He said. “It is natural, therefore, that if there is a need for the elite National Guard to provide assistance anywhere in the entire country, this would be the ideal solution.” [Texas] The National Guard was called in.”
Once again, Abbott emphasized that the Trump administration shares a common vision with Texas, making it a suitable partner.
“What Texas is trying to do is the same thing the United States is trying to do. And that is, quite simply, carrying out the functions of the federal government. One is immigration enforcement, the other is public safety. The Texas National Guard, they are not there to police the city of Chicago or anywhere else. They are there to ensure the safety and security that federal officials are able to fulfill their constitutional duty of enforcing the laws of the United States.”
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Then-South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem surveys the southern border with National Guard troops in McAllen, Texas in July 2021. Noem now serves as head of the Department of Homeland Security under the Trump administration. (Office of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem)
Although he did not give any indication of what further cooperation Texas might do with the Trump administration in the future, he said that Texas remains prepared for whatever is required.
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“No one can accurately predict what will happen in the future. What I can predict is how Texas will respond. This means that whenever the country is in a time of need, Texans will step up and help in any way they can.”
Fox News Digital’s Greg Weiner, Matt Finn, Michael Tobin and Bill Melogen contributed to this report.