Long-term Trump advisor Steve Bannon is worried that President Donald Trump’s trip to Corpus Christi, Texas will bungle the Republican Senate primary between incumbent John Cornyn, state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt.
Politico reports that Bannon’s big fear is that Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign team’s involvement with Cornyn’s reelection is aggravating the rift between the pro-Paxton MAGA faction and the rest of Republican voters.
“My belief is the Trump team should have stayed out of this race, absolutely,” Bannon told POLITICO from the set of his temporary “War Room” podcast.
Critics say the 2026 election year is on delicate ground with Republicans due to Trump’s rank unpopularity with centrist and independent voters. Trump’s shadow has already impacted numerous off-year elections in 2025, giving Democrats an overwhelmingly good year. SO, Bannon and other Republicans feel the GOP needs to get its most electable champions through midterms to face their Democratic opponents.
Bannon is a fan of Paxton, despite the baggage Paxton brings to the primary. But Politico reports Trump’s lieutenants are all over the place with other primary players in Texas.
“Tony Fabrizio, Trump’s top pollster, is working for Cornyn’s campaign, and Chris LaCivita, one of Trump’s top campaign hands, works as a senior adviser for the pro-Cornyn super PAC Texans for a Conservative Majority,” said Politico. “Steve Bannon, the longtime MAGA torchbearer, has taken issue with Fabrizio and LaCivita’s involvement.”
“The Paxton situation is critical, because he has been the MAGA guy since Day One,” Bannon said. Paxton, he added, is more than just a candidate in a contested GOP primary. “He is a symbol of the heart of the grassroots MAGA movement.”
A White House official told POLITICO “the president is neutral until he’s not,” and added that “John Cornyn votes with the President.”
Bannon, himself, is becoming a lightning rod for Democratic and Independent critics, as the Justice Department’s steady release of documents has revealed deep connections and correspondence between Epstein and Bannon.
