President Donald Trump hosts Ken Paxton as Texas Senate race heats up
President Donald Trump met with Texas Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton at the White House on Tuesday night.
The meeting comes as Paxton works to consolidate Republican support for the November General Election after securing the president's endorsement and ultimately defeating Republican incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in a bitter party runoff in late May.
In a photo posted to social media by Paxton, the republican candidate can be seen standing behind the president at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. In another photo, Paxton can be seen posing with a political artwork of his Democratic challenger, state Rep. James Talarico, with the president and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
"It was an honor to be with President Trump and @DanPatrick today as we work to defend Texas and save America," Paxton said in his post.
Trump shares 'artwork' of Talarico
President Donald Trump shared an autographed "piece of artwork" with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick during the Oval Office visit, according to an X post.
Patrick shared a side-by-side image depicting Talarico with a missing tooth next to Alfred E. Neuman, the longtime mascot of "MAD Magazine" known for his signature grin.
"@realDonaldTrump knows how to paint a picture like no one else," the post said.
Many of the comments on the post didn't find the image amusing; one person wrote, "As a lifelong Republican, I couldn't be more embarrassed for the GOP."
Trump fully backs Paxton, will host Texas rallies for him
Trump backed Paxton in the closing days of the Republican runoff, with early voting already underway. The president's endorsement sent shockwaves, not only in Texas but also on Capitol Hill.
As USA TODAY reported, the president's relations with Senate Republicans were already contentious, but his backing of Paxton over one of their own only escalated tensions.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, said the Paxton endorsement will make the Texas contest more expensive for Republicans because Paxton is more vulnerable to a Democratic upset than Cornyn would have been.
Democrats have celebrated Paxton's win over Cornyn, believing their candidate — state Rep. James Talarico — has a chance of flipping the seat blue. A recent poll after the Republican runoff showed Talarico leads Paxton 47% to 44% in the U.S. Senate general election — just outside the poll's margin of error.
With the ballot almost set, some Republicans remain divided over whether to support Paxton, torn between loyalty to their party and ongoing controversies about him.
Trump has also said publicly that he plans to campaign for Paxton in Texas, telling Lara Trump on her Fox News show "My View."
"I think Ken Paxton is going to absolutely just destroy him (Talarico)," Trump said on Fox News. "I'm gonna go ahead and go out and do rallies for him."
Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him at [email protected].