Dem
47
GOP
53
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is rapidly abandoning everything he has stood for in 40 years in elected office in a desperate attempt to get Donald Trump to endorse him. He will beg. He will eat dirt. He will do anything for that endorsement. The problem is that the MAGA base is pushing back hard. MAGA supporters see Cornyn as the embodiment of everything they hate about D.C. and politics. They do not want Trump to endorse Cornyn. Yes, his opponent, Ken Paxton, cheated on his wife, but he is faithful to MAGA, and that is what counts. So Trump is caught between a rock and a hard place: Endorse Paxton and risk losing the Senate seat or endorse Cornyn and risk losing his base.
Among the people pushing hard for Paxton are Steve Bannon, Laura Loomer, Mike Cernovich and Jack Posobiec, all key MAGA people. They and other true-blue MAGA supporters have less direct access to Trump than the Cornyn-supporting senators. Consequently, they are using a different approach. They are posting like crazy to social media, in an attempt to convince Trump that the grassroots is so angry with go-along-get-along establishment figures like Cornyn that Trump will not dare defy them.
Trump's problem with the Texas race is not his only problem with MAGA. Much of his base is furious that he started another forever war in the Middle East after explicitly promising not to do so. Endorsing Cornyn would be a second strike against him. And it might be enough to keep a substantial number of America-First voters home on Election Day. That could result in even bigger losses than one Senate seat. Trump is going to have to decide fairly soon and his decision is going to anger a lot of people, no matter which way he goes. (V)