Pod Save America Washington insiders have taken on one of the Republican candidates backed by President Donald Trump’s worst run, lambasting him for his “snail-like personality” and arguing he’s never faced a competitive election.
In the latest episode of the Pod Save America podcast, hosts and former Obama administration officials Jon Favreau and Dan Pfeiffer discussed the latest scandal surrounding Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his midterm bid for the U.S. Senate. Leaked audio from a meeting with donors appeared to show Paxton — who carried through to the GOP primary in Texas largely thanks to Trump’s support — explaining how the president’s recent midterm convention in Dallas hurt his poll numbers and those of nearly every other GOP candidate.
“So, to be honest with you, the numbers – when we had this convention – brought our numbers down. Everyone’s numbers went down. Right now, yeah, it’s not good,” Paxton said when a donor asked if Trump was becoming a drag on Republican candidates.
Amid the conversation about these leaks, Pfeiffer, Barack Obama’s former senior communications aide, said it was “just unbelievable” how far Paxton had come politically, given his complete lack of “charisma.” Deep charisma, he observed, helped many “incredibly corrupt politicians,” like Trump, succeed, but with Paxton, he was perplexed trying to pin down what he brought to the table.
“What is Paxton brings to the table that allows people to accept his corruption?” Pfeiffer asked exasperatedly. “He has the personality of a snail.”
In response, Favreau, Obama’s former speechwriting director, cited stories from journalists and commentators who have closely followed Texas politics.
“People who, you know, analyze Texas politics for a living and do Texas politics for a living. “The living argued that he got this far because of his corruption,” Favreau explained. “And so because he has been so corrupt and got so many people who are really rich in Texas politics to spend so much money to get him elected, he really didn’t had a super competitive race, especially during a primary where he had to rely on his charisma and talent for campaigning. All he had to do was just be the guy who, you know, is a special rich group. The interests invested a lot of money to ensure he was elected so he could pay them back. »
“My God, we really can’t lose to this guy,“Pfeiffer replied.”We can’t lose to him.”
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