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

18 articles tagged “MAGA”.

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

# 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

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

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

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 Support Is Shrinking—Even Among Republicans — article image
September 26, 2026

Trump’s Support Is Shrinking—Even Among Republicans

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

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

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

Trump Returns to Butler, Pennsylvania, After Assassination Attempt — article image
October 5, 2024

Trump Returns to Butler, Pennsylvania, After Assassination Attempt

Trump Holds MAGA Rally as Hurricane Michael Devastates Florida — article image
October 10, 2018

Trump Holds MAGA Rally as Hurricane Michael Devastates Florida

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

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 Escalates Attacks on Clinton After Threatening to Jail His Opponent — article image
October 10, 2016

Trump Escalates Attacks on Clinton After Threatening to Jail His Opponent

Donald Trump Announces His Run for President — article image
June 16, 2015

Donald Trump Announces His Run for President