KAKISTOCRACY (noun) — Government by the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous people.

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MAGA Movement

82 articles in this category.

As Trump Administration Targets Protesters as “Antifa,” Defendants Organize to Fight Back — article image

October 7, 2026

As Trump Administration Targets Protesters as “Antifa,” Defendants Organize to Fight Back

Trump Meets With Convicted Election Official to Discuss “The Plans” as Republicans Face Midterm Bloodbath — article image

October 7, 2026

Trump Meets With Convicted Election Official to Discuss “The Plans” as Republicans Face Midterm Bloodbath

The Party That Warns About “Groomers” Put a Man Accused of Molesting Small Children in Its Voter Guide — article image

October 7, 2026

The Party That Warns About “Groomers” Put a Man Accused of Molesting Small Children in Its Voter Guide

Trump Puts Natalie Harp in the Spotlight as Questions Swirl Around Their Unusually Close Relationship — article image

October 7, 2026

Trump Puts Natalie Harp in the Spotlight as Questions Swirl Around Their Unusually Close Relationship

Trump Backs Down on Taxpayer-Funded Ads After Bipartisan Backlash — article image

October 6, 2026

Trump Backs Down on Taxpayer-Funded Ads After Bipartisan Backlash

Trump Wants Alabama Bridge Named After Him — But Biden's Infrastructure Law Helped Pay for It — article image

October 5, 2026

Trump Wants Alabama Bridge Named After Him — But Biden's Infrastructure Law Helped Pay for It

Trump's Russia Peace Talks Are Now Entangled With a Multibillion-Dollar Oil Deal — article image

October 5, 2026

Trump's Russia Peace Talks Are Now Entangled With a Multibillion-Dollar Oil Deal

Trump Gives 24-Year-Old Reporter a White House Press Job Despite Thin Résumé — article image

October 4, 2026

Trump Gives 24-Year-Old Reporter a White House Press Job Despite Thin Résumé

Empty Seats Greet Trump at Alabama Rally as Crowd Problems Continue — article image

October 4, 2026

Empty Seats Greet Trump at Alabama Rally as Crowd Problems Continue

# Leaked Recording Exposes Republican Anxiety Over Trump Ahead of Midterms **October 3, 2026** For years, Republican candidates have publicly embraced Donald Trump, sought his endorsement and competed to demonstrate their loyalty to the president. But a leaked recording from Texas offers a glimpse of a very different conversation taking place behind closed doors. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton—the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, a longtime Trump ally and a candidate whose primary victory was aided by Trump's endorsement—was secretly recorded telling donors that Republicans' polling numbers fell after Trump's highly publicized midterm convention in Dallas. The gathering was specifically designed to help Republican candidates. According to Paxton, it did the opposite. "So to be honest with you, the numbers—when we did that convention—it dropped our numbers," Paxton said on the recording. Then he added: **"Everybody's numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good."** For Republicans approaching a difficult midterm election, those may be some of the most revealing words spoken during the campaign. ## A Private Conversation Republicans Weren't Supposed to Hear The recording reportedly came from a private gathering of conservative donors and lobbyists. An unidentified person can be heard asking Paxton: "Do you feel like he's a little bit of a drag?" There is an important qualification. The audio does not clearly establish whom the questioner meant by "he." It would therefore go beyond the evidence to claim that Paxton explicitly called Trump himself a political drag. But Paxton's response immediately turned to Trump's Dallas convention and its effect on Republican polling. "When we did that convention," Paxton said, "it dropped our numbers." And not merely his own. "Everybody's numbers dropped." The New York Times reported that attendees corroborated Paxton's presence and comments. Reuters reported on the recording but said it had not independently authenticated the audio. Paxton's campaign has attacked the story. Senior adviser Nick Maddux called it "manipulated nonsense" and argued that the campaign's internal polling showed Paxton leading Democratic nominee James Talarico. The campaign has not publicly demonstrated that Paxton's quoted remarks themselves were digitally altered. ## The Convention Was Supposed to Help Republicans That makes Paxton's assessment particularly striking. Trump's two-night Republican midterm convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas was created to energize Republican voters heading into November. It was centered overwhelmingly around Trump. His image appeared throughout the arena. Speakers repeatedly praised his presidency. Trump himself delivered a lengthy address and urged supporters to approach the midterms as though he personally were on the ballot. The president later described the event as an enormous success. But the visual picture was more complicated. Despite Trump's descriptions of a packed event, news organizations documented thousands of empty seats, including large portions of the arena's upper level. And now one of the Republican candidates the convention was intended to help has privately said that polling declined afterward. ## Paxton Isn't a Never-Trumper That distinction matters. This isn't criticism coming from a retiring Republican senator, a former Trump official promoting a book or a moderate Republican who broke with the MAGA movement years ago. This is Ken Paxton. Trump endorsed Paxton against longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn. Paxton defeated the four-term senator and became the Republican nominee. Trump's political operation has subsequently invested heavily in helping Paxton win the general election. Paxton has spent years closely aligned with Trump and the MAGA movement. That's precisely why his private comments are notable. Publicly, Trump remains enormously influential inside the Republican Party. Privately, one of his closest political allies appears concerned that a major Trump-centered campaign event hurt Republican candidates. ## Trump Says the Convention Was ‘Amazing’ Trump offered a completely different assessment when reporters asked him about Paxton's remarks. The president said he hadn't heard about the comments. "But I can tell you that the convention was amazing," Trump responded. Trump pointed to television viewership and argued that the event helped other Republican candidates. Vice President JD Vance similarly dismissed the controversy, saying he wasn't particularly concerned about something Paxton said during an off-the-record conversation with a donor. The White House's message was straightforward: The convention was successful. Paxton's private assessment was equally straightforward: Their numbers went down. Both statements cannot independently establish what actually caused any movement in polling. Changes in voter support can result from numerous events, and the leaked recording itself doesn't prove the Dallas convention caused Republican numbers to fall. But it does establish something politically significant: **Paxton believed it did.** ## Texas Wasn't Supposed to Be This Difficult The anxiety surrounding Paxton's campaign is understandable. Texas hasn't elected a Democrat statewide since 1994. Trump carried the state comfortably in 2024. Yet Paxton is now locked in a competitive Senate contest with Democrat James Talarico. Recent independent polls have shown Talarico competitive with or ahead of Paxton, although surveys differ and Paxton's campaign has released internal polling showing the Republican ahead. A recent Fox News poll found Talarico leading Paxton **51% to 49% among likely voters**, a two-point difference within that poll's margin of error. Among all registered voters, Talarico's advantage was larger. The result was surprising enough that Fox & Friends host Ainsley Earhardt reacted on air by asking: **"How is that possible?"** Paxton's leaked remarks may provide at least part of his own answer. He believes the Republican convention hurt. ## Trump's Own Numbers Have Deteriorated The controversy also arrives amid broader evidence of weakening public approval for the president. Recent national surveys have consistently shown Trump underwater. A Reuters/Ipsos poll put Trump's approval at 32%. State-level polling has also shown substantial deterioration since the beginning of his second term, including in states he carried in 2024. That doesn't mean Trump is necessarily responsible for every Republican candidate struggling this year. Candidates have their own records, opponents and local political environments. Paxton himself is a polarizing political figure whose favorability numbers present challenges independent of Trump. But presidents inevitably shape the political environment surrounding midterm elections. Republican candidates have to decide how closely to attach themselves to a president who remains extremely popular with much of their party's base but significantly less popular with the electorate overall. That creates a difficult calculation. They need Trump's voters. They may also need voters who don't like Trump. ## Trump Calls Paxton ‘A Pain in the Ass’ The relationship became even more awkward after the recording emerged. Trump traveled to Texas to campaign for Paxton. During an appearance in Denton, Trump began talking about the Republican nominee. "He's a pain in the ass sometimes," Trump joked. Then Trump apparently realized Paxton was sitting in the audience. "Oh, he's here?" Trump quickly shifted back to praise, calling Paxton the country's greatest attorney general and reaffirming his support for the Republican nominee. The exchange was humorous. But the timing was extraordinary. Days earlier, Paxton had privately complained that Republican polling declined after Trump's convention. Now Trump was publicly campaigning for him while joking about his irritation with the candidate. ## Public Loyalty, Private Anxiety None of this demonstrates that Republicans have collectively abandoned Trump. They clearly haven't. Trump remains the dominant figure inside the Republican Party, Republican candidates continue seeking his support and party leaders continue publicly defending him. Nor does Paxton's leaked conversation prove that Trump will hurt Republicans in November. Election results will answer that question. But the recording exposes something considerably more subtle. There is a difference between the Republican Party's public presentation of Trump and the private calculations individual candidates must make about him. Publicly, Trump's convention was "amazing." Privately, Paxton said: **"It dropped our numbers."** Publicly, Republicans continue presenting Trump as their greatest political asset. Privately, a Republican Senate nominee is examining polling and worrying about what happened after the president came to help. That doesn't mean Republicans are "done with Trump." It does mean that, with the midterms approaching and Trump's approval ratings substantially underwater, at least some Republicans are confronting a question that was once almost unthinkable inside the MAGA-era GOP: **What happens when Donald Trump's ability to energize Republican voters collides with his ability to energize voters who oppose him?** — article image

October 4, 2026

Leaked Recording Exposes Republican Anxiety Over Trump Ahead of Midterms

Trump Is Using Taxpayer Money to Air Campaign-Style Ads About Himself — article image

October 3, 2026

Trump Is Using Taxpayer Money to Air Campaign-Style Ads About Himself

Trump Said He Would Save the Kennedy Center. Nineteen Months Later, It Is in Financial Crisis. — article image

October 3, 2026

Trump Said He Would Save the Kennedy Center. Nineteen Months Later, It Is in Financial Crisis.

Donald Trump Is Putting Himself in TV Ads — And You're Paying for Them — article image

October 1, 2026

Donald Trump Is Putting Himself in TV Ads — And You're Paying for Them

Even Fox News Can't Hide How Bad Things Have Gotten for Donald Trump — article image

October 1, 2026

Even Fox News Can't Hide How Bad Things Have Gotten for Donald Trump

Five Trump-Era Deals Congress May Put May Use Against Trump — article image

October 1, 2026

Five Trump-Era Deals Congress May Put May Use Against Trump

Jack Smith to Congress: “President Trump Engaged in Serious Crimes Against Our Nation” — article image

September 30, 2026

Jack Smith to Congress: “President Trump Engaged in Serious Crimes Against Our Nation”

Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ Welfare Ad Accidentally Starts a MAGA Fight Over Who Is “Supposed” to Be on Welfare — article image

September 30, 2026

Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ Welfare Ad Accidentally Starts a MAGA Fight Over Who Is “Supposed” to Be on Welfare

Trump Is Promising Another Massive Factory. We’ve Seen This Movie Before. — article image

September 29, 2026

Trump Is Promising Another Massive Factory. We’ve Seen This Movie Before.

Christian Nationalist Pastor Says Women Voting Is ‘Radical’ — And Men Should Control Their Social Media — article image

September 29, 2026

Christian Nationalist Pastor Says Women Voting Is ‘Radical’ — And Men Should Control Their Social Media

# Election-Integrity Candidate Convicted of Election Fraud — and She's Far From the First Republican Caught Doing It — article image

September 28, 2026

Election-Integrity Candidate Convicted of Election Fraud — and She's Far From the First Republican Caught Doing It

Trump’s Voter-Fraud Crackdown Finds Cases — Just Not the Epidemic He Claimed — article image

September 28, 2026

Trump’s Voter-Fraud Crackdown Finds Cases — Just Not the Epidemic He Claimed

Trump Boasts That America Has ‘The Best Poverty’ — article image

September 28, 2026

Trump Boasts That America Has ‘The Best Poverty’

Trump Blamed Vandals for Reflecting Pool Damage. The Contractor Blamed the Renovation. — article image

September 28, 2026

Trump Blamed Vandals for Reflecting Pool Damage. The Contractor Blamed the Renovation.

Peter Thiel Blasts Trump’s Loyalty-First White House: ‘Not Very Smart, But Very Loyal’ — article image

September 27, 2026

Peter Thiel Blasts Trump’s Loyalty-First White House: ‘Not Very Smart, But Very Loyal’

Trump's Support Is Cracking in the Places That Put Him Back in the White House — article image

September 27, 2026

Trump's Support Is Cracking in the Places That Put Him Back in the White House

Trump Gets a Hostile—Reception at Tennessee Football Game — article image

September 27, 2026

Trump Gets a Hostile—Reception at Tennessee Football Game

Lauren Boebert Faces Explosive Ethics Allegations — Including Affairs With Staff and a $200,000 Payment — article image

September 27, 2026

Lauren Boebert Faces Explosive Ethics Allegations — Including Affairs With Staff and a $200,000 Payment

E. Jean Carroll Finally Has Trump's Money — And She Says She's Not Spending It on Herself — article image

September 27, 2026

E. Jean Carroll Finally Has Trump's Money — And She Says She's Not Spending It on Herself

Trump's Poll Numbers Are Collapsing — And Voters Now See Republicans as the Party of the Elite — article image

September 27, 2026

Trump's Poll Numbers Are Collapsing — And Voters Now See Republicans as the Party of the Elite

Pete Hegseth's Bank Account Jumps From Under $50,000 to More Than $1 Million — article image

September 27, 2026

Pete Hegseth's Bank Account Jumps From Under $50,000 to More Than $1 Million

Trump Turns on Republican Congresswoman After She Challenges His Immigration Crackdown — article image

September 27, 2026

Trump Turns on Republican Congresswoman After She Challenges His Immigration Crackdown

Trump Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle Faces Questions Over Lobbyist’s Role in European Energy Deals — article image

September 27, 2026

Trump Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle Faces Questions Over Lobbyist’s Role in European Energy Deals

Trump’s Iran War Is Now Costing American Households an Estimated $1,760 — article image

September 26, 2026

Trump’s Iran War Is Now Costing American Households an Estimated $1,760

Trump’s Support Is Shrinking—Even Among Republicans — article image

September 26, 2026

Trump’s Support Is Shrinking—Even Among Republicans

Trump-Aligned Congressman Bars Reporter From Campaign Event After Critical Coverage — article image

September 26, 2026

Trump-Aligned Congressman Bars Reporter From Campaign Event After Critical Coverage

Trump’s Sons Invested in Defense Companies. Those Companies Have Landed Billions in Government Business. — article image

September 26, 2026

Trump’s Sons Invested in Defense Companies. Those Companies Have Landed Billions in Government Business.

Melania Trump Says Her Childhood Under Communism Was ‘Beautiful’ — article image

September 26, 2026

Melania Trump Says Her Childhood Under Communism Was ‘Beautiful’

Trump Won Over Latino Voters. Now Some Say They Feel Betrayed. — article image

September 26, 2026

Trump Won Over Latino Voters. Now Some Say They Feel Betrayed.

Tucker Carlson Calls for Trump’s Cabinet to Remove Him Under the 25th Amendment — article image

September 25, 2026

Tucker Carlson Calls for Trump’s Cabinet to Remove Him Under the 25th Amendment

Kevin Kiley Wants a TV Station to Pull an Ad Linking Him to Trump — article image

September 25, 2026

Kevin Kiley Wants a TV Station to Pull an Ad Linking Him to Trump

97% of Mirror Readers Agree: Donald Trump Is ‘Not a Normal Human Being’ — article image

September 25, 2026

97% of Mirror Readers Agree: Donald Trump Is ‘Not a Normal Human Being’

Tommy Tuberville Seems to Have Found Another Group of Americans to Fear — article image

September 25, 2026

Tommy Tuberville Seems to Have Found Another Group of Americans to Fear

Trump Built His Own Propaganda Channel. No One Is Interested. — article image

September 25, 2026

Trump Built His Own Propaganda Channel. No One Is Interested.

Trump Won Over Young Men. Now Some of His Biggest 2024 Gains Are Unraveling — article image

September 24, 2026

Trump Won Over Young Men. Now Some of His Biggest 2024 Gains Are Unraveling

Joe Rogan Helped Trump Win. Now He Says What Voters Were Sold Hasn't Worked Out — article image

September 24, 2026

Joe Rogan Helped Trump Win. Now He Says What Voters Were Sold Hasn't Worked Out

White House Blamed Politico for an Anonymous Source. That Source Is JD Vance — article image

September 24, 2026

White House Blamed Politico for an Anonymous Source. That Source Is JD Vance

The Voters Who Put Trump Back in the White House Are Starting to Walk Away — article image

September 23, 2026

The Voters Who Put Trump Back in the White House Are Starting to Walk Away

Trump’s Iran War Is Losing Republicans — New Poll Shows Support Cracking Inside His Own Party — article image

September 23, 2026

Trump’s Iran War Is Losing Republicans — New Poll Shows Support Cracking Inside His Own Party

JD Vance Blames Iran as Gas Prices Explode — and Americans Aren’t Buying the Excuse — article image

September 23, 2026

JD Vance Blames Iran as Gas Prices Explode — and Americans Aren’t Buying the Excuse

Republican Senator Calls for Trump Jr. Subpoena as Questions Grow Over Trump Family Business Empire — article image

September 22, 2026

Republican Senator Calls for Trump Jr. Subpoena as Questions Grow Over Trump Family Business Empire

The Clock Is Ticking on Trump’s Power — And Washington Knows It — article image

September 21, 2026

The Clock Is Ticking on Trump’s Power — And Washington Knows It

Major MAGA Festival Canceled After Just Six People Buy $1,000 VIP Tickets — article image

September 21, 2026

Major MAGA Festival Canceled After Just Six People Buy $1,000 VIP Tickets

Trump Pardoned the 'QAnon Shaman.' Now He Doesn't Even Support Trump. — article image

September 20, 2026

Trump Pardoned the 'QAnon Shaman.' Now He Doesn't Even Support Trump.

Marjorie Taylor Greene Says MAGA Is Dead — And Blames Donald Trump — article image

February 27, 2026

Marjorie Taylor Greene Says MAGA Is Dead — And Blames Donald Trump

MAGA Erupts After Trump Is Passed Over for Nobel Peace Prize — article image

October 10, 2025

MAGA Erupts After Trump Is Passed Over for Nobel Peace Prize

Woodward Reports Trump and Putin Continued Speaking After Trump Left Office — article image

October 8, 2024

Woodward Reports Trump and Putin Continued Speaking After Trump Left Office

Trump Returns to Butler, Pennsylvania, After Assassination Attempt — article image

October 5, 2024

Trump Returns to Butler, Pennsylvania, After Assassination Attempt

Michigan Kidnapping Plot Exposes the Violent Extremist Fringe of Anti-Government Politics — article image

October 9, 2020

Michigan Kidnapping Plot Exposes the Violent Extremist Fringe of Anti-Government Politics

Giuliani Associates Arrested as Trump’s Ukraine Scandal Explodes — article image

October 10, 2019

Giuliani Associates Arrested as Trump’s Ukraine Scandal Explodes

Trump Publicly Calls on China to Investigate the Bidens — article image

October 3, 2019

Trump Publicly Calls on China to Investigate the Bidens

Michael Cohen Turns on Trump Before Congress — article image

February 27, 2019

Michael Cohen Turns on Trump Before Congress

Kanye West Delivers an Extraordinary Oval Office Monologue With Trump — article image

October 11, 2018

Kanye West Delivers an Extraordinary Oval Office Monologue With Trump

Trump Holds MAGA Rally as Hurricane Michael Devastates Florida — article image

October 10, 2018

Trump Holds MAGA Rally as Hurricane Michael Devastates Florida

Trump Mocks Christine Blasey Ford’s Testimony as Crowd Cheers — article image

October 2, 2018

Trump Mocks Christine Blasey Ford’s Testimony as Crowd Cheers

Trump’s ‘Self-Made’ Fortune Story Unravels in Massive Tax Investigation — article image

October 2, 2018

Trump’s ‘Self-Made’ Fortune Story Unravels in Massive Tax Investigation

Stormy Daniels Breaks Her Silence in Explosive “60 Minutes” Interview — article image

March 25, 2018

Stormy Daniels Breaks Her Silence in Explosive “60 Minutes” Interview

Andrew McCabe Fired Days Before Retirement as Trump's Fight With the FBI Intensifies — article image

March 16, 2018

Andrew McCabe Fired Days Before Retirement as Trump's Fight With the FBI Intensifies

Trump Suggests Democrats Who Didn't Applaud Him Were “Treasonous” — article image

February 5, 2018

Trump Suggests Democrats Who Didn't Applaud Him Were “Treasonous”

Trump Releases Controversial Nunes Memo as Battle Over Russia Investigation Intensifies — article image

February 2, 2018

Trump Releases Controversial Nunes Memo as Battle Over Russia Investigation Intensifies

Very Stable Genius”: Trump Erupts as *Fire and Fury* Rocks the White House — article image

January 20, 2018

Very Stable Genius”: Trump Erupts as Fire and Fury Rocks the White House

Trump’s “Shithole Countries” Remark Ignites International Backlash — article image

January 11, 2018

Trump’s “Shithole Countries” Remark Ignites International Backlash

Michael Flynn Pleads Guilty and Agrees to Cooperate With Mueller — article image

December 1, 2017

Michael Flynn Pleads Guilty and Agrees to Cooperate With Mueller

Trump Uses “Pocahontas” Attack During Ceremony Honoring Navajo Code Talkers — article image

November 27, 2017

Trump Uses “Pocahontas” Attack During Ceremony Honoring Navajo Code Talkers

Trump Warns Devastated Puerto Rico That FEMA Won’t Stay “Forever” — article image

October 12, 2017

Trump Warns Devastated Puerto Rico That FEMA Won’t Stay “Forever”

Republican Senator Calls Trump's White House an “Adult Day Care Center” and Warns of World War III — article image

October 8, 2017

Republican Senator Calls Trump's White House an “Adult Day Care Center” and Warns of World War III

Trump Escalates the NFL Anthem Fight From the Presidential Podium — article image

September 23, 2017

Trump Escalates the NFL Anthem Fight From the Presidential Podium

Donald Trump Jr.’s Trump Tower Meeting With Russians Is Exposed — article image

July 10, 2017

Donald Trump Jr.’s Trump Tower Meeting With Russians Is Exposed

Women Come Forward Accusing Trump of Unwanted Sexual Contact — Trump Calls Them Liars — article image

December 12, 2016

Women Come Forward Accusing Trump of Unwanted Sexual Contact — Trump Calls Them Liars

At Gettysburg, Trump Promises to Sue the Women Accusing Him of Sexual Misconduct — article image

October 22, 2016

At Gettysburg, Trump Promises to Sue the Women Accusing Him of Sexual Misconduct

Trump’s $916 Million Loss Raises Questions About Years Without Federal Income Taxes — article image

October 12, 2016

Trump’s $916 Million Loss Raises Questions About Years Without Federal Income Taxes

Trump’s $916 Million Loss Raises Questions About Years Without Federal Income Taxes — article image

October 1, 2016

Trump’s $916 Million Loss Raises Questions About Years Without Federal Income Taxes

Donald Trump Announces His Run for President — article image

June 16, 2015

Donald Trump Announces His Run for President