A Texas Republican was criticized on Tuesday for a "desperate act" of pandering to President Donald Trump after failing to secure his midterm endorsement, leading some to suspect his campaign is about to crash and burn.
Sen. John Cornyn has been running for reelection to his seat in Texas, and has faced stiff primary competition from the state's scandal-plagued attorney general, Ken Paxton, who has come after the senator from the right and positioned himself as the more heavily MAGA-aligned candidate. Paxton has also been seen as the candidate that Democrats would have an easier time beating in the general election, creating a notably tense primary standoff that will go to a runoff on May 26.
So far, Trump has declined to endorse either candidate, with some in the MAGA sphere urging him to back an ally like Paxton, while others have pushed him to back the safer choice in Cornyn. With polling and momentum slipping away from the senator, Cornyn on Tuesday announced a proposal that seemed tailor-made to curry Trump's favor: naming a highway in Texas after him.
"I am proud to introduce legislation to rename US Highway 287 as Interstate 47 in honor of our 47th President [Donald Trump]," Cornyn posted to his official X account. "My bill will upgrade one of our nation’s longest highways to a future interstate and save more than $5 BILLION in travel costs, all while honoring the most effective and influential president of our lifetime. Texas is Trump Country & this bill cements [Trump's] legacy by designating nearly 1,800 miles of open road to forever be known as the Trump Interstate."
The move was swiftly roasted as one of obvious desperation by numerous other X users.
"The internal polling must be real ugly to pull out this desperate act," Daily Kos writer Emily C. Singer wrote in a post to X.
"Things are getting desperate in the Texas primary runoff, it seems," VoteBeat editorial director Jessica Huseman added in her own post.
"Cornyn is increasingly desperate for an endorsement that seems out of reach," writer Drew Savicki posted.
Rolando Garcia, a state-level Texas Republican, roasted Cornyn's proposal by sharing a popular meme featuring actor Steve Buscemi, alongside the text, "How do you do, fellow MAGA?"
Reporter Gabe Fleisher cited overwhelming polling statistics to dismantle Cornyn's attempt at pandering to the president.
"Per Pew, only 9 percent (!) of Americans support naming things for Trump while he’s in office," Fleisher wrote. "But, of course, all that matters to Cornyn right now are the opinions of Texas GOP primary voters — or, more specifically, that of Trump himself, whose endorsement could seal Cornyn’s fate."
