Trump compares Dem Senate candidate to freckle-faced cartoon character, promises to campaign for Paxton

President Donald Trump compared Democrat Texas Senate nominee James Talarico to MAD Magazine mascot Alfred E. Neuman on Wednesday while separately vowing to campaign for his Republican rival, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. 

Paxton, who gained Trump's endorsement just one week ago, defeated longtime GOP Sen. John Cornyn  by nearly 30 points in Tuesday's runoff election for the Republican nomination. In a post on Truth Social, Trump congratulated Paxton on his "tremendous win", and also Cornyn for "having run a strong and powerful race but, more importantly, having had a truly great career." 

"His opponent, Alfred E. Neuman, may be the worst TEXAS candidate I have ever seen," Trump then said about Talarico, a state representative. 

"A strong Open Borders advocate, he is WEAK ON CRIME, believes there are 6 genders, is insulting to Jesus Christ, will never support the Military, was a big Mask Wearer until recently, and is a Vegan who dislikes meat, not exactly a good way to be if you’re wanting to win an Election in Texas," Trump also claimed.

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A spokesperson for the Talarico campaign told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that "James is a law-and-order Democrat who has a proven track record voting to send billions of dollars to support law enforcement."

"He supports border security and has criticized both parties for grandstanding on the issue of immigration — it’s why he’s authored legislation to modernize our ports of entry and called for more border patrol agents. As costs continue to rise and corruption in Washington runs rampant, James is focused on taking power back for working people and bringing down the price of gas, groceries, and health care," added Talarico campaign spokesperson JT Ennis.

Talarico also said during a recent interview on MeidasTouch that "I’ve been eating barbecue since before Ken Paxton’s first indictment." 

Trump previously compared Pete Buttigieg to Alfred E. Neuman when the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, ran for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

"Jasmine Crockett, a very low IQ individual, who is no relation to the legendary frontiersman, Davy Crockett, would have been a far better choice for the Dumocrats," Trump added on Wednesday. "I will do some nice, big, beautiful rallies for Ken. Texas, this will be FUN!"

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Talarico, who topped Crockett, a vocal Trump critic, in the March primary, is trying to become the first Democrat in nearly four decades to win a Senate election in right-leaning Texas. 

Public opinion polls suggest the general election clash in Texas will be competitive and expensive. Talarico raised an eye-popping $27 million in fundraising the first three months of this year.

Trump's social media post is the latest push by Republicans to paint a picture of Talarico as a far-left radical.

Paxton on Tuesday night quickly turned his fire on Talarico, charging in his victory speech that "James Talarico is a threat to everything we hold dear in this state and in this country. He's a threat to our security and our safety. He wants open borders and even said a welcome mat should be at our southern border."

He mocked the Democratic nominee as "tofu Talarico," "six-gender Jimmy," "James Talafreako" and "low-T Talarico." 

And in an exclusive Fox News Digital interview, he said that "James Talarico doesn't belong in Texas. We cannot let him be the center of the state of Texas. He fits in California, he does not fit here."

Looking to the general election showdown, Paxton said, "I think we're going to try to highlight what he actually believes, because the people of Texas need to know what his views are, and whether they are going to support those views. The only way where they can know what he's really about is to let people know what he said."

Fox News Digital was first to report that the Club for Growth, a deep-pocketed conservative political group that’s often aligned with Trump, endorsed Paxton as he clinched the nomination. And the group's affiliated Win It Back PAC hours later launched an ad attacking Talarico as a "woke weirdo for Senate."

But Paxton has plenty of political baggage that will also be in the general election spotlight.

Paxton has faced a slew of scandals and legal problems that have battered him over the past decade. In 2023, the Texas House of Representatives voted to impeach Paxton, but he was eventually acquitted of all charges by the state Senate.

And Paxton is dealing with a very messy divorce, with his wife citing "biblical grounds" based on "recent discoveries" in filing last year to end their marriage.

Talarico's campaign posted a mugshot of Paxton on social media on Tuesday, saying: "He was indicted on 3 felony counts for investment fraud. He was reported to the FBI by his own staff for bribery. He was impeached by his own party for corruption."

"Now he’s the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas. Together we will stop him," the Talarico campaign declared. 

And earlier in the week, Talarico pushed back against the claims by Trump and Republicans that he's a vegan.

"I’ve been eating barbecue since before Ken Paxton’s first indictment," Talarico said in an interview.

Meanwhile, Trump's praise of Cornyn in his Wednesday social media post was an abrupt change from his attacks on the senator earlier in the week.

The president targeted Cornyn as "VERY disloyal" as he backed Paxton, a major Trump ally and MAGA firebrand, in the final days of the runoff campaign. 

But Paxton, in a move to consolidate Republican support after a bitter, more than year-long primary battle, praised Cornyn in his victory speech.

"I want to thank John Cornyn for his service to this state. John has dedicated much of his life to serving Texans. He’s worked diligently for years to help Texas and for that spirit of service to the Lone Star State and our nation, I’m very grateful," Paxton said.

And Paxton, minutes later, told Fox News Digital, "We need to come together as a Republican Party. I think John Cornyn will be a part of that. I think his voters will be too."