President Donald Trump reportedly intensified his support for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over the weekend, urging Republicans in the Lone Star State to back the embattled attorney general in Tuesday’s Senate runoff while taking fresh shots at Paxton’s opponent, Sen. John Cornyn.
In a fiery Truth Social post Sunday, Trump praised Paxton as one of the nation’s top attorneys general and highlighted the loyalty Paxton showed him during what the president described as years of political “weaponization” by Democrats.
“TEXAS, REMEMBER! Ken Paxton was a GREAT Attorney General, probably the best in the Country,” Trump wrote. “He was also very loyal to your favorite President, ME, as the Dumocrats played their ultimate game of Weaponization, and failed, BADLY!”
The president also touted his own electoral success in Texas, noting that he carried the state three times while claiming record vote totals there.
Trump then turned his attention toward Cornyn, accusing the longtime senator of failing to aggressively support election integrity measures championed by the MAGA movement.
“Ken’s opponent was VERY disloyal to me, as President, and didn’t fight hard enough for the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT – VOTER I.D., PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP, NO MAIL-IN BALLOTS,” Trump wrote, while noting exceptions for military service members, illness, disability and travel.
“What more needs to be said???” the president added. “Vote for Ken Paxton on Tuesday, HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!!!”
The endorsement marks Trump’s second major public push for Paxton in recent days and further cements the president’s influence over Republican primaries, especially in deeply conservative states like Texas.
Last week, Trump formally backed Paxton in the closely watched Senate contest, praising him as “a true MAGA Warrior” who has “ALWAYS delivered for Texas.”
The runoff between Paxton and Cornyn has become one of the Republican Party’s most closely watched internal battles, pitting an establishment senator with decades in Washington against a combative state attorney general closely aligned with Trump’s populist wing.
The race has also exposed divisions inside Senate Republican circles, where some lawmakers have openly expressed frustration with Trump’s decision to back Paxton instead of Cornyn.
Sen. Susan Collins criticized the endorsement last week and questioned Paxton’s ethical record.
“I don’t understand. He is an ethically challenged individual,” Collins said of Paxton.
Collins went on to praise Cornyn as “an outstanding senator” who she believed deserved the president’s backing, while acknowledging that the endorsement decision ultimately belonged to Trump.
“Obviously, it’s the president’s call but I’m disappointed that he did it,” she added.
The escalating battle in Texas reflects broader tensions within the Republican Party as Trump-aligned candidates continue challenging longtime GOP incumbents seen by parts of the conservative base as insufficiently loyal to the president’s agenda.
At the same time, the increasingly personal nature of the campaign has underscored how political loyalty has become one of the defining forces in modern Republican primaries, sometimes overshadowing traditional policy debates.
With Tuesday’s runoff approaching, the outcome is expected to serve as another major test of Trump’s political influence heading deeper into the election cycle, particularly in a state long viewed as central to the Republican Party’s national strength.
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