Ken Paxton just compared himself to Trump to defend his scandals and it may have backfired

WASHINGTON, DC: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton compared his own scandals to those surrounding President Donald Trump during a Fox News interview, and the remark quickly turned into a fresh political headache for his Senate campaign.

Paxton was pressed by Fox News host Maria Bartiromo about being labeled “scandal-plagued” in a recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece. Instead of distancing himself from the criticism, Paxton answered, “I get why they said that, but the reality is they could say the same thing about Donald Trump.”

Paxton leans on Trump to defend his scandals 

The exchange came during an appearance on ‘Sunday Morning Futures’ as Paxton tried to defend his record ahead of a general election fight against Texas Democratic state lawmaker James Talarico for the Senate seat being vacated by John Cornyn.

“When you’re fighting the fight, unfortunately, you get attacked, and you have to defend yourself,” Paxton said. “And when you do that, and ... they’re not successful, they still accuse you of things.”

He continued, “Accusations don’t mean that the thing actually happened. They have to prove these things in our country. That they didn’t do with President Trump and that they didn’t do with me.”

The comparison immediately drew attention because Bartiromo, a generally friendly interviewer for Republican candidates, was already pressing Paxton on his political baggage during the segment.

That baggage became a central issue in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece written by former George W Bush adviser Karl Rove titled ‘The GOP’s Five Paxton Problems’.

Rove wrote that Paxton has faced accusations involving “corruption, bribery, obstruction, securities fraud, multiple mistresses and incompetent handling of s*x-trafficking cases”.

Paxton scandals rattle GOP

The accusations were serious enough for Paxton to be impeached by the Republican-controlled Texas House in 2023 before he was later acquitted by the Senate.

Rove warned that Paxton’s controversies could become a broader Republican problem in November.

“Every Texas Republican running for Congress, statewide office or the Texas Legislature could be asked about his scandals,” he wrote.

The concerns come even after Paxton crushed Sen John Cornynin the Republican primary last week by a 64 per cent to 36 per cent margin after securing Trump’s endorsement just days before voting.

But Rove also argued the numbers underneath that victory raise questions about Paxton’s strength in a statewide general election.

According to Rove, only 81 per cent of Republican primary voters knew who Paxton was before the race, and among those voters, only 35 per cent said they were more likely to support him than Cornyn.

Social media mocks Paxton

The Trump comparison quickly triggered mockery online.

Political scientist Norman Ornstein posted on X, “My God, the first truthful thing I have heard from Ken Paxton!”

Writer Jim Stewartson wrote, “‘I’m not as dirty as the president’ is a weird flex.”

Journalist Mehdi Hasan reacted with a one-word response: “Hilarious.”

Former ‘Jeopardy!’ champion Hemant Mehta added, “Talarico couldn’t have scripted this any better if he tried.”