At Texas Rally, Trump and Paxton Make for an Awkward Pair
New York Times · LC · trust 46/100
The president offered support for the Republican Senate candidate, after earlier grumbles, but focused much of his speech on a defense of his own record.
Listen · 5:29 min Share full article President Trump campaigned Wednesday in San Antonio, Texas, for Ken Paxton, the state attorney general. Mr. Paxton is facing a tough Senate race in Republican-governed Texas. Credit... Kenny Holston/The New York Times By Shawn McCreesh
Mr. Trump was in fighting form, tossing out red meat reminders to Texans about why they voted for him in 2024. He was interrupted nearly a dozen times by protesters, several of whom were led out in handcuffs. He talked a lot about the border, and Democrats, and himself.
What he didn’t talk a lot about was Ken Paxton.
Mr. Trump called the scandal-plagued Texas attorney general one of the best in the country and brought him up onstage briefly, but that was about it. When Mr. Trump first came onstage, it wasn’t even Mr. Paxton who introduced him. It was the baseball player Roger Clemens.
In San Antonio, Mr. Trump wasn’t trying to get people excited about Ken Paxton so much as he was trying to get them excited about Donald Trump. The question animating this race, and so many of the others this season: Is that still enough for Republicans to win these days?
This was Mr. Trump’s third trip to Texas in a month, which is a strong indicator of just how concerned the party is about what could happen here in November. The stakes of this race are especially high for the president, as he endorsed this especially flawed candidate, and cast out Mr. Paxton’s opponent in the primaries, Senator John Cornyn. This is what the MAGA base wanted.
The president had his base laughing and roaring and practically jumping in their seats on Wednesday. He told a long story about another baseball player, Pete Rose, and announced that Mr. Clemens was getting the Medal of Honor. He made jokes about his hair, and Melania.
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Read the original at New York Times →
Open in TruthVane →