The bromance between Donald Trump and Ken Paxton is getting a little awkward weeks before the midterms.
Trump endorsed Paxton. Trump’s political operation has poured millions into helping him. And Paxton has repeatedly presented himself as one of the president’s strongest allies.
But behind the scenes, Paxton is complaining that he has little control over his own Senate campaign — and his frustration appears to be aimed at the Washington political operation surrounding Trump.
In a leaked recording obtained by Politico, Paxton told conservative donors and lobbyists at a Sept. 24 fundraiser that he had “never been in a race where I felt less control over the campaign.”
“It’s all coming — you know — from D.C.,” Paxton complained. “I don’t control message or what we’re doing.”
Paxton never explicitly named Trump or the president’s political team.
But according to an attendee who spoke with Politico, “everybody knew who he was talking about.”
The recording exposes a growing problem for a candidate who is supposed to be running his own campaign.
And it gets even more awkward.
Paxton said Trump’s convention hurt his numbers.
“When we did that convention — it dropped our numbers,” Paxton said, according to audio previously obtained by The New York Times. “Everybody’s numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good.”
That is a remarkable thing for a Republican Senate candidate to say about a major event headlined by the president who endorsed him.
Trump, meanwhile, has been publicly taking shots at Paxton.
At the GOP convention, Trump mocked Paxton’s fashion choices on both nights.
“I don’t like the way Ken dresses,” Trump told the crowd at one point, before quickly adding that he had also told people Paxton looked “really sharp” in a suit.
The night before, Trump offered another backhanded compliment.
“Ken Paxton may not be the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen,” Trump said, before declaring that he was “the greatest Attorney General in America” and deserved to become Texas’ next senator.
Then, at an event in Denton, Trump reportedly went further, calling Paxton a “pain in the ass.”
The strange part is that Trump is still heavily invested in Paxton’s campaign because he wants a senate majority to shield him from oversight.
Trump endorsed Paxton during his bitter Republican primary battle against Sen. John Cornyn, and his MAGA Inc. political operation has committed millions of dollars to help Paxton in the general election.
Paxton is facing Democrat James Talarico in November, with recent polling showing Talarico pulling ahead.
That makes the leaked recording particularly interesting.
You’ve got the president backing the candidate while the candidate is privately complaining about the Washington operation running his campaign — and saying the Trump convention hurt his numbers.
And then you’ve got Trump publicly mocking the same candidate’s appearance — while calling him the greatest attorney general in America.
Yeah, this Republican alliance is looking a little less cozy than it did a few months ago.
The question now is whether Trump and Paxton can keep their political marriage together long enough to get through November.
