President Donald Trump on Wednesday stood firmly behind his endorsement of Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, brushing aside questions over leaked audio in which Paxton blamed his campaign’s struggles on the ongoing war with Iran.
Speaking with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump was asked whether he “regrets” endorsing Paxton following the release of audio that captured the candidate speaking with donors.
Trump flatly rejected the idea, praising Paxton as the “best attorney general in the country.”
“No, no, no. Not at all. He was a great attorney general. I think he’ll be a great senator. Ken Paxton was the best, or certainly one of the few best, but the best attorney general in the whole country. And no, I would have no regrets at all,” Trump said.
Paxton has served as Texas attorney general since 2015.
The leaked audio, published by Axios, features Paxton explaining to donors why he is “having a hard time with numbers” in the race. Paxton also reportedly said his numbers dropped after Trump’s Dallas convention.
In the recording, Paxton pointed to the war and rising fuel costs as the driving forces behind his difficulties.
“It’s not tariffs… it’s the war, it’s gas prices, it’s diesel, over $6 per gallon… people are feeling the pinch,” Paxton said.
He went on to say the war’s impact had spread to other costs facing voters.
“That’s probably the biggest problem and that pushed out the food prices and everything else… So that’s by far our biggest problem,” he added.
Paxton is locked in a race against Democrat James Talarico, who has held a narrow lead over him in recent polling. That edge has Democrats excited over the prospect of flipping the Texas Senate seat blue.
Paxton earned his spot on the ballot by defeating Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in a primary after Trump backed Paxton over the incumbent. Cornyn has held the seat for more than 20 years.
Critics have questioned the wisdom of Trump’s decision to support Paxton over Cornyn, particularly in light of Paxton’s history of controversy.
The president himself has not always gone easy on Paxton. In the run-up to the midterm elections, Trump has mocked Paxton in public at a number of events, including criticizing the way the candidate dresses.
At a rally earlier this month, Trump went as far as calling Paxton a “pain in the a*s.”
But on Wednesday, with the leaked audio putting Paxton’s campaign comments under the spotlight, Trump showed no sign of backing away from the candidate he helped push past a two-decade incumbent.
Instead, the president doubled down, offering Paxton a full-throated endorsement from the Oval Office. Trump praised Paxton’s record as attorney general and said he believes Paxton will make a “great senator,” making clear he has “no regrets at all” about his decision to back him in the high-stakes Texas race.
[READ MORE: Leaked Audio Captures Paxton Privately Naming Gas Prices as His Campaign’s ‘Biggest Problem’]
