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.