Trump accuses fellow Republicans of undermining Paxton in Texas Senate race
President Donald Trump has accused fellow Republicans of making it harder for Ken Paxton to win the U.S. Senate race in Texas, singling out incumbent Senator John Cornyn and political strategist Karl Rove.
In a post on Truth Social reported on 16 October, Trump said Cornyn and Rove were working against Paxton, the Republican nominee, and said their opposition was due to personal jealousy toward him. The Guardian
Trump also said Cornyn and Rove were hurting Texas and, more importantly, hurting the United States of America. He said that if Paxton loses, it will be because of what he called weak and ineffective political hacks like Cornyn and Rove. KXAN
The criticism points to a division inside the Republican Party over the seat. Trump backed Paxton, who has served as attorney general of Texas since 2015, over Cornyn in the Republican primary. The general election is for an open seat, with no incumbent running, between Paxton and Democratic nominee James Talarico.
Polls show Talarico with a slight lead. A Reuters/Ipsos poll cited earlier in October put Talarico at 51% and Paxton at 45% among voters surveyed. Reuters A loss for Paxton would be the first time a Republican had not won a Senate election in Texas since 1988.
Republicans have treated Texas as a state they must defend. Trump won Texas by nearly 14 points in the 2024 presidential election, and Republicans had spent $210 million to help Paxton defeat Talarico, according to reporting from mid-October. Reuters Trump had made a third trip to Texas in a month to rally for Paxton as of 7 October.
The race has also included friction between Paxton and Trump. Paxton told a group of donors that Trump's midterm convention hurt him and other Republicans, according to late-September reporting. Reuters
In separate developments covered in the same White House live report, Katie Zacharia was identified as the White House's new press secretary. Zacharia said it is unknown how much she will engage with the press or hold briefings with reporters. The report also noted that she failed to pass the California bar exam after graduating from law school.
Trump also addressed Ukraine. He labeled Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries as a disgrace and described Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as more difficult to deal with than Russian President Vladimir Putin.
