Sen. Ron Johnson Says ‘One-And-Done’ Floor Vote For SAVE America Act Would Be ‘Disastrous’
'We ignore our base at our own peril, and we don't want to dispirit our base. And right now, that's kind of the path we're going on,' he said.Thune Is Sabotaging SAVE Act While Pretending He Tried Everything
'It’s not enough for him to kill the SAVE America Act. Thune has to kill it while also protecting his worst RINO colleagues,' Sean Davis said.Trump holds off on Texas Senate endorsement to pressure GOP to deliver on 'No. 1 priority' legislation: Report
President Donald Trump is postponing his endorsement in the Texas Senate Republican primary to pressure Republican senators to pass the SAVE America Act, Politico reported, citing two anonymous people described as close to the White House.
Neither incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R) nor Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) received at least 50% of the vote during last week’s primary election, triggering a runoff race on May 26 before the winner faces off against Democratic nominee James Talarico.
'I think that was a very smart strategy because it bought time.'
Both Cornyn and Paxton have been vying for Trump’s endorsement. The president stated on Thursday that he would endorse one of the candidates “pretty soon.” He expects the candidate who does not receive his support to drop out of the race.
Last week, the Atlantic and Axios reported that Trump was expected to endorse Cornyn.
Paxton responded to rumors of a Cornyn endorsement by declaring that he would not withdraw from the race, even if Trump refused to support him.
Trump told Politico on Thursday that Paxton’s remarks were “bad for him” and that they may push him to select Cornyn after all.
RELATED: 'That is bad for him': Trump hints at final endorsement in Paxton vs. Cornyn Senate runoff
Paxton then walked back his comments, stating that he would “consider” withdrawing from the race if the Senate passed the SAVE America Act.
Trump has described this piece of legislation as the Republican Party’s “No. 1 priority” ahead of the midterms, adding that if it does not pass, it could spell “big trouble” for GOP candidates.
Politico reported that Paxton’s move appeared to stall Trump’s endorsement by highlighting a shared issue between them, while also revealing the tension between the president and Senate Republican leaders, who back Cornyn. Two sources close to the White House told the news outlet that Paxton’s strategy changed the dynamics.
“I think that was a very smart strategy because it bought time. Because now, if you’re the White House or Trump, why would you now weigh in?’’ a Republican operative told Politico. “Trump has remained very steadfast that he wants this done, and that is a huge priority, and he’s getting pissed off at these members and at [Senate Majority Leader John] Thune.”
RELATED: Trump to intervene in Texas' Senate race, anoint his preferred candidate
An anonymous Paxton campaign aide told the news outlet that “the grassroots donor community in Texas did not believe or realize how close Trump was [to] endorsing Cornyn.”
“Once they realized that the threat was real, they went very hard in the paint,” the aide added.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Senate RINOs try to STRONG-ARM Trump on THIS key issue — but he’s holding all the cards
The Texas Senate Republican primary is heating up after neither John Cornyn nor Ken Paxton secured a majority of the vote, and President Trump — who previously declined to endorse either candidate — may be about to make a decision.
And that decision will likely be influenced by Paxton’s announcement that if the Senate passes the long-awaited SAVE Act, he will drop out of the race.
“The Republican Primary Race for the United States Senate in the Great State of Texas, a State I LOVE and won 3 times in Record Numbers ... cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer. IT MUST STOP NOW,” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively! Both John and Ken ran great races, but not good enough. Now, this one, must be perfect!” he continued.
“I will be making my Endorsement soon, and I will be asking the candidate that I don’t Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE! Is that fair? We must win in November!!!!” he concluded.
“Of course, Ken Paxton is a Texan patriot,” BlazeTV host John Doyle says on “The John Doyle Show.” “So Senate Majority Leader John Thune encouraged Trump to endorse pro-amnesty John Cornyn, and the rumors are essentially that John Thune is using the SAVE Act, a policy by the way that is supported by 80% of Americans, as a kind of leverage of Trump.”
“Essentially like extorting him into endorsing this Cornyn character. So basically, he’s saying he’s not going to pass the SAVE Act unless Trump personally intervenes to endorse, like, literally this establishment RINO pro-amnesty,” he continues.
Doyle also points out that Thune has “been an extremely ineffective Senate leader.”
“He’s passed the fewest bills ever. He’s blocked Trump’s recess appointments. Generally, just slowed down the administration, right? He’s failed on the SAVE Act despite promising repeatedly to pass it,” he says, adding, “This is literally the most important thing that could ever be done, literally ever.”
Want more from John Doyle?
To enjoy more of the truth about America and join the fight to restore a country that has been betrayed by its own leaders, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
David French Suffers An Apparent Brain Injury Over James Talarico
If you remember in Anchorman when Brick says he loves lamp, and Ron Burgundy asks him if he's just calling out the names of things he sees in the office and saying that he loves them, then you understand what French and Talarico are doing with religion.Democrats swapped Crockett’s preening for Talarico’s pulpit — and it worked
This time one year ago, David Hogg served as vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and he was openly touting Jasmine Crockett as the Democrats’ 2028 presidential nominee.
For real.
The other side is energized — and it is learning how to package its agenda in forms that look familiar enough to pass at a glance.
What a difference a year makes! Hogg was ousted from the DNC in June, and this week, Crockett’s U.S. Senate hopes sank like an Iranian frigate in the Indian Ocean.
Crockett built a national brand on performance: the nails, the lashes, the dialect, the whole routine. Private-school résumé, public “hood rat” persona. The problem wasn’t that Democrats objected to the routine. The problem was that it didn’t translate statewide.
Even though one in four Democratic primary voters are black, Crockett’s two-term House persona couldn’t carry her in a Senate primary among white voters living paycheck to paycheck. The scam had run its course.
Of course, modern Democratic politics rarely punishes grifters or scammers. It simply swaps in a new scam with better packaging.
Enter James Talarico, a name most Americans didn’t know a few weeks ago. He went on Stephen Colbert last month and played martyr about the Trump administration supposedly trying to censor an interview. Then — boom! — more than two million Democratic primary voters showed up and handed Texas’ Democratic U.S. Senate nomination to a straight white male.
That result doesn’t happen unless Talarico brings dark magic to the table.
He runs as part of “Team Jesus” — while speaking with forked tongue, of course.
That label provides a “permission structure” (read: scam) for Democratic primary voters who want a candidate who looks less like a cultural provocation and more like a “values” figure without changing the party’s underlying agenda. Democrats used a similar move nationally: Wrap the ticket in “normal” imagery — the old ball coach who wears flannel — and dare critics to object.
In Talarico’s case, the permission structure goes deeper because it touches theology. He offers a version of Christianity tailored for the normie voter — Christian language used to sell progressive policy as moral inevitability.
That’s why the stakes aren’t limited to one Senate race. If the left can redefine Christianity in public, it can neutralize one of the last institutions that resists its broader project. Talarico’s pitch attempts to do exactly that by presenting positions on abortion and gender ideology as not merely acceptable to Christians but practically demanded by God — who, in case you haven’t heard, is nonbinary.
RELATED: ‘Wake the hell up’: Glenn Beck warns Texans after primary election results
Talarico may still lose in November. But remember: Beto O’Rourke lost to Ted Cruz by less than three points in 2018. National Democrats will treat this race as winnable and amplify it accordingly. The messaging will be exported far beyond Texas.
So here’s the question for the American church: Are you prepared to confront this?
A statewide campaign can become a delivery system for doctrinal confusion. Many churches, even in red states, insist they don’t want to “get political.” That instinct can become an excuse for silence when clarity is required.
More than 1.2 million Texans voted for a candidate whose brand centers on a theological message that would have sounded unthinkable less than a generation ago. So maybe the more urgent question isn’t whether the church is prepared. It’s whether the church even cares.
One more question, because the turnout itself should concern conservatives.
In a red state, with a major GOP Senate primary featuring an entrenched incumbent, a well-known attorney general, and a sitting congressman, how did that race draw fewer voters than the Democrats’ contest between the phony preacher and the fake hood rat?
If nothing else, it should serve as a warning: The other side is energized — and it is learning how to package its agenda in forms that look familiar enough to pass at a glance.
www.theblaze.com