A top Republican senator has warned that Donald Trump faces a painful political reckoning after the midterm elections. Senator John Cornyn said the president is steering the party toward disaster by demanding absolute loyalty. The Texas lawmaker gave his first extensive interview since losing a primary runoff to Ken Paxton, a Trump-backed rival.
Donald Trump might have a midterms ‘disaster’
John Cornyn predicted the last two years of Donald Trump’s term would be the “most miserable two years” of his life. “I think November is going to be a disaster,” he told The New York Times. The senator argued that Trump’s insistence on what he called “slavish” loyalty is hurting the party nationwide.
“It’s going to make things harder, certainly more expensive in Texas, and make it harder around the country,” Cornyn said. He added that he was not speaking from a place of revenge: “I don’t say that with any sort of desire for vengeance; I just think that’s the way it’s going to be.”
However, his defeat to Ken Paxton still loomed over the conversation. Trump endorsed the Texas attorney general shortly before the runoff, a move Cornyn believes swayed the result. “These are the devoted MAGA supporters, and when they saw what President Trump said when he said it, I think it no doubt had an influence,” he said. Low turnout also played a part, but he acknowledged the endorsement mattered.
Cornyn also reflected on his vote to acquit Trump during the second impeachment following the January 6 Capitol attack. Despite his loyalty then, he said the president later turned on him. “There’s never going to be good enough for him,” he stated, adding that “if he would do that to me, he would do that to anybody.”
Cornyn described Trump as someone who can never be satisfied. “There’s never going to be good enough for him, other than 100 percent, you know, slavish adherence to whatever he wants,” Cornyn remarked. Looking forward, Cornyn suggested that if Democrats win back Congress, Trump’s legislative agenda would grind to a halt. A third impeachment would also become a real possibility.
