Michael Tidwell, president of University of Texas at Tyler, (right) welcomes Laura Ingraham, of Fox News, to the stage to speak as part of the university's Distinguished Lecture Series Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019, at the Cowan Center in Tyler. (Cara Campbell/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Fox News host Laura Ingraham, during a visit to the University of Texas at Tyler, urged voters not to doubt President Donald Trump and to focus on the real issues.

“The Ingraham Angle” host spoke Thursday at the R. Don Cowan Fine and Performing Arts Center as part of UT Tyler’s Distinguished Lecture Series.

The lecture touched on many of the same issues as her show, with frequent applause and verbal responses from audience members.

Ingraham started the lecture with a brief recap of the way she runs her show, going through the news of the day and not shying away from the controversial material she is known for.

She made pointed comments about the current impeachment inquiry, mocking and criticizing prominent Democrats while assuring attendees that Democrats were overplaying their hand.

“If you’re really confident in your plans and policies, you wait for the voter to decide,” she said.

Ingraham said she was glad to head out the door to Texas.

“I left my house with my passport knowing I was coming to America,” she said. “This is what America looks like.”

Ingraham joked that she was a terrible person after she made comments about former Vice President Joe Biden inappropriately touching women, his memory and comments about former President Bill Clinton’s extramarital relationships.

Ingraham said she doesn’t believe the polls that Texas is in danger of turning blue in the 2020 election thanks to areas like East Texas.

“You go to other parts of Texas and ask, ‘What happened to Texas?’” she said. “This (area) is God’s country. I love it.”

Ingraham praised the president before addressing what she believes is the real threat to America.

“People say (Trump) should be another Reagan,” she said. “Reagan was the man for his time and Trump, in his own right, is the man for this time.”

Ingraham said the future of democracy is at risk, but not from political issues such as the Ukraine scandal. The real threat, she said, is China’s growing influence and power.

“The biggest issue today, one that will probably not be solved in my lifetime, is our struggle with communism,” Ingraham said, calling China “the Nazi Germany of our time.”

Ingraham told attendees that the issues with China are going to be a generational struggle that will define everything in their lives for years to come.

“This is a barbaric regime that only one president has had the courage and fortitude to call out,” she said. “The storm didn’t roll in with the Trump administration. The looming storm started rolling in 30 years ago when Reagan left office.”

Ingraham recalled the last thing President Ronald Reagan said to her when she left the White House before law school.

“Make it matter,” she said. “Every day I try to remember that and I want to tell all of you I’m very optimistic about the really young generation.”

Ingraham said the Republican Party under Trump has an opportunity to reinvent itself and will never be the same. She said she sees potential in teens today to someday take the helm of that new Republican Party.

Ingraham closed by telling the crowd, “Make this election your last stand for this country,” and receiving a standing ovation.

During a short Q&A session, opened by U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert jokingly asking if Hillary Clinton has a chance in 2020, Ingraham reiterated the need to focus less on issues such as impeachment and more on global issues.

When asked how to combat the “liberal left,” Ingraham responded by telling attendees to be courageous in their viewpoints like the president, and not care what people say about them.

“When someone says he’s done, remember the John McCain moment or Billy Bush,” she said.

The final question, from a student, was about how America should orient itself on a global scale.

Ingraham told attendees that America should secure its own oxygen mask before helping the person next to them.

“The way to have a safer, more peaceful world is to have an America that is strong, prosperous and proud,” she said, noting that while many people might die, America can no longer be the “global police.”

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