President Trump promoted. On April 7, 2020, Patrick announced the creation of a task force to make recommendations on how to re-open Texas's economy. Patrick again garnered controversy on April 21, when he defended his previous comments on the pandemic by saying "And what I said when I was with you that night, there are more important things than living. And that's saving this country for my children, and my grandchildren and saving this country for all of us. And I don't want to die, nobody wants to die, but man, we got to take some risks and get back in the game, and get this country back up and running." In May 2020, Patrick paid a $7,000 fine imposed on a Dallas businesswoman after she defied Texas's lockdown orders in order to keep her hair salon open. He said, "Seven days in jail, no bail and a $7,000 fine is outrageous." Video games After the 2019 El Paso shooting, Patrick listed factors that he believed contributed to the shooting, starting off with video games, saying, "We've always had guns, always had evil, but I see a video game industry that teaches young people to kill." Donald Trump Patrick endorsed Texas Senator Ted Cruz for the 2016 Republican presidential primaries and served as his Texas campaign chairman. After Donald Trump became the Republican nominee, Patrick endorsed him and eventually became the Texas state chairman for his campaign. Trump won Texas by 9 percentage points, the closest result since 1996. In January 2018, Patrick stated that he considered Presidents Trump and Ronald Reagan as the two greatest presidents in his lifetime, and the Austin American-Statesman described Patrick as an "ardent defender" of Trump. At a political rally for President Trump on October 17, 2019, Patrick told a crowd of 20,000 that liberals "are not our opponents, they are our enemy." After Joe Biden won the 2020 election and Trump made false claims of fraud, Patrick backed Trump as he refused to concede. Patrick said he would pay up to $1 million for reports of voter fraud across the country. In October 2021, Patrick paid the first reward of $25,000 to a Pennsylvania poll worker who reported a man that voted twice. Personal life Patrick's first marriage ended in divorce. His second wife is Janetlea "Jan" Patricia Rankin, a former teacher. The couple was married in 1975 and lives in the Houston