U.S. Senator John Cornyn rolled into West Texas on Tuesday for what should have been an easy day of political theater: standing around at the Reese National Security Complex, nodding solemnly about “cybersecurity,” and helping Texas Tech break ground on its new Critical Infrastructure Security Site. Local bigwigs like Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows and State Rep. Carl Tepper were out in full force, gleefully hyping up Lubbock’s brave new future as a “defense industry hub”—because nothing says cutting-edge global warfare protection quite like a repurposed Air Force base sitting right next to a cotton patch.
But just as Cornyn was busy explaining how this state-of-the-art complex would protect our water and power grids from sinister hackers, his own political grid took a direct hit. Donald Trump decided Tuesday morning was the absolute perfect time to drop a bombshell endorsement for Cornyn’s runoff opponent, Ken Paxton. Trump publicly blasted Cornyn for being a fair-weather friend who was “very late” to back him, while praising Paxton as a “true MAGA Warrior” who knows how to win despite a mountain of legal trouble.
Talk about a vibe kill. Instead of celebrating Tech’s shiny new playground for national defense, a visibly stressed Cornyn spent his Lubbock media availability and a subsequent stop at the Plains Cotton Growers’ headquarters trying to convince anyone who would listen that Paxton is an “albatross” around the neck of the Republican party. Dragging his campaign caravan through the Hub City just days before the May 26 runoff election, Cornyn practically begged West Texans to realize that nominating Paxton—and his legendary cargo van of ethical baggage—is a surefire way to hand a victory to Democrat James Talarico in November.
But hey, look on the bright side, John: if the primary voters completely reject you next week, at least you know exactly where Lubbock’s highly secure infrastructure facility is located when you need a dark, fortified place to hide from the MAGA base.
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