Trump meets – President Donald Trump met Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at the White House after Paxton defeated Republican Sen. John Cornyn in a late-May runoff, throwing the race into a sharper fight for the November U.S. Senate seat. Trump also shared an autographed “
President Donald Trump met Texas Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton at the White House on Tuesday night, cementing Trump’s support after a bitter party runoff that left Paxton poised to take on Democrats in November.
The meeting comes as Paxton looks to consolidate Republican backing for the general election after securing Trump’s endorsement and then defeating incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in late May’s Republican runoff. In photos Paxton posted to social media, he stood behind Trump at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.
In another image, Paxton posed with a political artwork of his Democratic challenger, state Rep. James Talarico. The photos also included Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, tying the visit directly to the campaign fight Paxton is now trying to unify Republicans around.
“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 autographed ‘piece of artwork’ of Talarico
Trump, for his part, shared an autographed “piece of artwork” with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick during the Oval Office visit, according to an X post. Patrick posted 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.
Patrick’s post said, “@realDonaldTrump knows how to paint a picture like no one else.”
Not everyone reacted with amusement. Many of the comments on the post did not land well; one person wrote, “As a lifelong Republican, I couldn’t be more embarrassed for the GOP.”
Trump fully backs Paxton, will host Texas rallies
Trump moved quickly to back Paxton in the final days of the Republican runoff, with early voting already underway. The president’s endorsement sent shockwaves beyond Texas, reaching Capitol Hill.
His support also intensified tensions in a relationship already described as contentious with Senate Republicans. Lindsey Graham. R-South Carolina. said Trump’s endorsement of Paxton will make the Texas contest more expensive for Republicans because Paxton is more vulnerable to a Democratic upset than Cornyn would have been.
Democrats celebrate a path to flipping the seat
Democrats have treated Paxton’s win over Cornyn as an opening. They believe their candidate, state Rep. James Talarico, has a chance to flip the seat blue.
A recent poll conducted after the Republican runoff showed Talarico leading Paxton 47% to 44% in the U.S. Senate general election. That margin put Talarico just outside the poll’s margin of error.
As the ballot approaches being finalized, some Republicans remain split over whether to support Paxton, caught between party loyalty and ongoing controversies surrounding him.
Trump also signaled he will campaign for Paxton in Texas. On Fox News, Trump told Lara Trump on her show “My View” that he plans to do rallies for Paxton.
“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.”
Where the race stands now
With Trump’s endorsement and Oval Office photos now part of the political narrative, Paxton is pushing to unify Republican energy for November while Democrats press their belief that the seat is within reach.
The clash over Paxton’s candidacy—visible in Graham’s warning about increased cost and in the uneven reaction to Trump’s joking “artwork”—reflects a fight that isn’t just about Texas voters, but also about how far Trump’s influence can go inside Republican ranks heading into the general election.
Donald Trump Ken Paxton Texas Senate John Cornyn James Talarico Dan Patrick Lara Trump Lindsey Graham U.S. Senate election Republican runoff election 2024 campaign rallies White House
Why is he autographing random art though lol
So Trump met Paxton and then Paxton beat Cornyn? Sounds like another inside Texas thing. I’m just confused why the artwork has a tooth missing??
The ‘missing tooth’ painting seems kinda petty, not gonna lie. Like is that supposed to help his Senate campaign or just bully the Democrat. Also I thought Cornyn already lost like 5 times already, so idk.
This is what I don’t get… they say they’re “defending Texas” but they’re posting cartoon stuff about James Talarico. And why does it matter that Paxton is meeting Trump at the Resolute Desk, isn’t that just a photo op? Feels like it’s all theater to me, but people will eat it up because it’s Trump. I also saw people mad about it online but half of them didn’t even read the story, they just saw the picture and freaked out.