Republicans say Trump blew up Texas for 'his ego'

Former Bush Speechwriter David Frum and Republican strategist David Urban each took turns unloading on President Donald Trump for making Republicans’ difficult November fight even harder in ruby-red Texas and everywhere else.

The punches came after Trump endorsed problematic Texas AG Ken Paxton over incumbent Texas Republican John Cornyn, who was assured an easy victory.

“I think [Sen.] Lindsey Graham summed it up best,” Urban told CNN anchor Kaitlyn Collins. “It's going to cost three times as much now [to win that Texas seat]. That's what's really underpinning all this in a Texas race that Cornyn … was kind of a walk to win and beat [Democratic challenger James] Talarico. But Paxton — completely different story.”

“I've seen some numbers where it's estimated the [National Republican Senatorial Committee] is going to have to spend an additional $250 million in Texas. That's not pocket change, when you got a race in Maine and a race in Alaska to help protect. Some of these races are going to be close. And if you have to spend 250 million bucks in Texas now to kind of prop up a guy who may not be the strongest candidate in a general election.”

“I also think that if you look at the situation in May and project it forward to November, you're not understanding the dynamics of the American economy,” warned Frum. “This is a slowing economy. By November, it will be clear that Donald Trump lost the war in Iran. It will be clear that all Americans got out of it was higher gas prices, higher food prices, higher fuel prices. You're probably going to be in a very slow job creation situation by the second half of the year and continuing high rising prices.”

“So, the situation is deteriorating,” said Frum “I think that that's the sense of panic you're hearing from the Republican senators. They know it's going to get worse. And Donald Trump is doing his part to make it worse because of his own ego needs: his desire is to get the ballroom and never pay taxes again and punish my enemies.”

Ashley Allison, a former senior staffer with the Obama and Biden campaigns, said “Republican senators are lying in the bed that they made.”

“They had moments of intervention, and they didn't have the moral courage, and it still came to bite them in the long run,” Allison told Collins and the panel. “Texas is going to be hard [for Democrats]. But what I will say is in the primary with James Talarico and Jasmine Crockett, we had some of the largest turnout of democratic voters in history there, because Democrats have not always organized in Texas and didn't always have a strong democratic infrastructure.”

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