“Pain in the ass”: Trump shows his displeasure with Paxton again after audio leak – Roll Call

President Donald Trump once again had Texas on his mind on Thursday, turning to the state’s Attorney General Ken Paxton, a day after leaked audio added to the awkwardness between the president and a Senate candidate he called a “pain in the ass.”

He used a formal White House event to visit a Peterbilt heavy-duty truck plant in Denton to urge North Texas voters to send their embattled state AG to the Senate to replace longtime Sen. John Cornyn — even as Trump once again showed his displeasure with Paxton. Buoyed by Trump’s support, Paxton defeated the former Republican Senate whip in a primary battle earlier this year. Paxton is in a tight general election race with Democratic Rep. James Talarico, whom Trump derisively calls “Tala-freako” and presents as a fringe politician.

“For decades, you have been mercilessly betrayed by politicians — bad politicians who let trade cheats pillage your wages, pillage your factories, close your jobs and rob our country blind. They would still do it if I wasn’t here, believe me,” Trump said during a rally-style speech at the truck plant. “And they’ll do it again if you don’t elect guys like Ken Paxton.”

Still, the Republican Party leader continued his pattern of taking a few shots at Paxton — all while pleading to those in attendance that electing the state attorney general was a necessity.

“When I was hit really hard by the radical left — harder than very few people could have taken, I was hit — Ken Paxton stood by me more than anyone. And I always have to remember that because he could be a pain in the ass sometimes, I’m going to be honest,” Trump said before heaped praise, calling Paxton “the greatest attorney general in the United States of America.”

“We need Ken so much, and that’s why I’m here,” he added, with two big blue trucks parked behind him that he described as “no bullshit.”

Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales calls Texas Senate race ‘Lean R.’ The Cook Political Report has it in the “Toss Up” column. According to Trump, this race and others are too close because “we can’t get the message across,” something he claims only he can change by storming the country.

The stop in Texas came before a rally planned later Thursday evening in neighboring Oklahoma for Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Mazzei — although Trump said he was mostly going to say “thank you” to the people of Oklahoma for his three presidential victories there. On Friday evening, he is expected to hold a rally in Alabama amid the battle in the new 2nd District between Republican state Rep. Rhett Marques and incumbent Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the GOP gubernatorial candidate and front-runner in Alabama, said Wednesday he was excited to introduce Trump in the Yellowhammer State.

“He’s going to show his support” for Republican candidates “in, probably, 20 to 25 stops over the next five weeks,” Tuberville said in a brief interview. “That’s kind of the kickoff. … He’s done a lot for us.”

Trump’s comments Thursday about Paxton came during the president’s second visit to Texas in just a few weeks. At his September 9-10 midterm convention in Dallas, he promised to come back “a lot” before the November 3 midterm elections to try to push Paxton to victory.

But, notably, he also mocked Paxton during the party’s two midterm celebrations last month.

On the first night of the convention, Trump mocked the scandal-plagued Paxton while the audience laughed.

“He may not dress right, he may not speak perfectly and he may not be the nicest guy I’ve ever seen,” Trump said of his party’s nominee for the Senate race. “But you know what he is? He’s the greatest attorney general in America, and he deserves to be your next senator.”

Trump returned to this during his closing speech the following evening.

“And I said something yesterday, and I don’t know if he’ll ever speak to me again,” Trump said of Paxton. “Maybe he will. … I said, ‘I don’t like the way Ken dresses.’ Although I also said he looked really dapper in that suit yesterday. I thought it was chic. And then I said, “I don’t really like the way Ken talks.” And then I said something they really hated. … I said, ‘I don’t really like the way he looks,'” he said, drawing laughter from the crowd at the American Airlines Center in unison.

Criticism from the presidential audience made it seem like Trump was acknowledging to his Lone Star loyalists that he, too, has reservations about Paxton — but he still needs them to vote for him to help Republicans maintain their Senate majority.

“But you know what I love? He was the greatest attorney general in Texas history.” “He was the greatest attorney general in the history of our country. … So I don’t know if he’ll ever talk to me again. … I don’t care as long as he wins.”

“We gave up our numbers”

In leaked audio first reported Wednesday by The New York Times, Paxton made clear that he didn’t much like Trump’s midterm elections — and considered the president an albatross.

“So, to be honest with you, the numbers – when we had this convention – caused our numbers to drop. Everyone’s numbers have dropped. Right now, yeah, it’s not good,” Paxton said in the recorded exchange.

He had responded to an anonymous person asking: “Do you feel like he’s a bit boring?” »

Asked by a reporter as he left the White House Thursday about Paxton’s comments and why he was still traveling to Texas, the president responded: “Well, I’ll tell you why. We have to win this election.”

A new poll shows why Paxton might view him as a political anchor.

Thirty-six percent of registered voters surveyed September 25-28 by YouGov and The Economist said they approved of Trump’s job performance, with 62 percent expressing dissatisfaction.

For months, voters have pointed to economic problems such as high gas prices as the reason for the poor ratings given to the 45th and 47th general managers.

When asked to rate the state of the economy, 75 percent of respondents in the same survey rated it “fair” or “poor,” compared to 23 percent who said “excellent” or “good.”

Yet on Thursday, Trump continued to ignore these concerns, just over a month before Election Day.

“We are the hottest country in the world,” he told reporters at the White House. “I give us an A+ on government, on the economy – all of that. »