Donald Trump, who headlined the Republican mid‑term convention last month, made remarks about Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton during a speech at a truck factory in Denton, Texas, after Paxton had criticized the convention.
Trump said Paxton can be a “pain in the ass sometimes” and asked if he was present, remarking he didn’t know if Paxton was there and that he didn’t care. He also commented on Paxton’s appearance, calling him a “pain in the ass” and noting his suit looked spiffy.
Paxton had criticized the Dallas convention in a private Washington fundraiser, saying the event had lowered Republican numbers, according to an audio recording obtained by The New York Times. Paxton and Democrat James Talarico are tied in the polls, with Talarico slightly ahead in recent surveys.
A Fox News poll released Thursday showed Talarico at 51 percent and Paxton at 49 percent, while a Marist University poll from September 17‑20 had Talarico at 50 percent and Paxton at 44 percent. An earlier University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll on August 24 gave Talarico 42 percent to Paxton’s 39 percent. Paxton’s senior adviser Nick Maddux disputed the NYT report, calling it “manipulated nonsense.”
During the GOP convention, Trump also criticized Paxton’s fashion sense, saying he did not like the way Paxton dressed but also that he looked sharp. After his Denton stop, Trump told an Oklahoma crowd that Paxton would take the Senate seat whether people loved him or not, calling him one of the best attorney generals in the country.
