#james-talarico — Trump Fail

Caught on Leaked Audio at a Private Donor Event, Trump's Own Endorsed Texas Senate Candidate — Ken Paxton, Who Owes His Nomination to Trump's Backing — Agreed the President Is "a Drag" and Admitted His Dallas Midterm Convention Tanked the Party's Polling: "The Numbers — When We Did That Convention — It Dropped Our Numbers. Everybody's Numbers Dropped… Not Good"

On September 30, 2026, the New York Times reported on leaked audio of Ken Paxton — the Texas attorney general, Trump-endorsed Senate candidate, and a longtime MAGA stalwart — privately telling a small gathering of conservative donors and lobbyists in Washington that Trump is hurting Republicans heading into the midterms. Asked directly, "Do you feel like he's a little bit of a drag?", Paxton answered: "So to be honest with you, the numbers — when we did that convention — it dropped our numbers. Everybody's numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good." This is not a Democrat's talking point or a pundit's theory. It is the private admission of the man who won his primary against four-term Sen. John Cornyn precisely because of Trump's endorsement — conceding that the president's own Dallas "Trumpalooza" convention, documented across this archive as a half-empty spectacle of pay-to-play tiers, a "cheat like hell" pledge, and a champagne video, measurably drove down GOP polling. Paxton's campaign dismissed the Times report as "manipulated nonsense" and noted he looks forward to Trump's visit to Texas, and the recording was leaked by an attendee who opposes him — caveats worth stating. But the words are Paxton's, on tape, and CNN's assessment was blunt: he has a point. The candidates cannot say it in public, because the base will punish them. In private, even Trump's own endorsee says the quiet part: the president is a drag, and his convention made it worse.

At Trump's Midterm Convention, as Ted Cruz Named Three Democratic Candidates From the Stage, Audience Members Were Heard on the Broadcast Shouting "He Should Be Shot!" After Each Name — Cruz Did Not Stop or Condemn It, and It Happened on the One-Year Anniversary of a Political Assassination That Republicans Spent the Day Denouncing

On the closing night of the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, September 10, 2026, Sen. Ted Cruz was criticizing prominent Democrats by name from the stage. As he named New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, and Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, audience members were heard — audibly, on the convention broadcast — shouting "He should be shot!" after each name. It is important to be precise about who said what: the shouts came from the crowd, not from Cruz and not from Trump. But Cruz did not stop, acknowledge, or condemn the calls for violence in the moment; it is unclear whether he heard them, and his office and the RNC did not immediately respond. The incident carried a grim extra weight because it happened on the one-year anniversary of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk — a day many Republicans spent decrying political violence, even as attendees at their own convention openly called for named opponents to be shot. This belongs in the record not because Trump or Cruz spoke the words, but because it is the atmosphere Trump's movement has cultivated made audible: a crowd at his flagship event treating "shoot the Democrats" as an ordinary thing to yell, and a stage full of leaders who let it pass.