GOP strategist: Trump made a '$100M mistake' backing Paxton
Trump's endorsement of Paxton drew criticism from a Republican strategist, while Trump publicly praised Paxton and attacked Talarico.
SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYCredibility rates Yahoo News, which republished this story. The other scores rate the article itself.
Yahoo News is an established national publisher, but this page appears to reproduce material associated with The Hill rather than present original Yahoo reporting. The page identifies an author and includes a copyright notice.
- Source type — An established national news publisher, though this article appears to be republished material.
- Transparency — A copyright notice identifies Nexstar Media, and the page directs readers to The Hill.
- Author attribution — An individual author is named.
- Editorial standards — The text is presented as a reported article with statements attributed to named speakers.
The short report attributes its central criticism to named strategists and includes Trump's own praise and attack. It offers little detail about the basis for the strategists’ forecasts and no response from Paxton or Talarico.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The report presents criticism from strategists and includes Trump's supportive comments, but it does not include a response from Paxton or Talarico, or much evidence explaining the competing assessments.
- Source diversity — The article quotes strategists and includes Trump's social media statements.
- Counterarguments presented — Trump's praise of Paxton and confidence about the race provide some counterpoint to the strategists' concerns.
- Omitted context — Neither Paxton nor Talarico responds, and the basis for the strategists' predictions is not developed.
- Loaded language — The most pointed terms are attributed to the speakers rather than stated as the article's own verdict.
The report uses a largely neutral news style, attributing criticism of Trump’s endorsement to strategists and including Trump’s own favorable comments about Paxton and attack on Talarico.
- Language tone — Most evaluative language is presented as a direct quote from a named strategist or Trump.
- Source selection — The article includes strategists critical of the endorsement and Trump's own statements.
- Framing — The headline foregrounds a strategist's criticism, while the body attributes that judgment to him.
Republished with credit
Republished from The Hill, with credit to the original publisher.
254 stories · 78–79 · updated Oct 6, 2026
This is The Hill's own score, and this article is credited to The Hill. The host score in the Source Check is Yahoo News's.
GOP strategist Brad Todd said Donald Trump made a costly mistake endorsing Ken Paxton over John Cornyn, arguing Paxton could struggle in the general election. Trump has praised Paxton and criticized his opponent, James Talarico.
Brad Todd said Trump made a “100-million-dollar mistake” by urging Republican primary voters to support Paxton over Cornyn. Todd described Cornyn as more credible and moral and said he would have been a shoo-in. The article says other strategists have also questioned Paxton’s general-election prospects.
The article recounts controversies involving Paxton that the National Republican Senatorial Committee had highlighted, and says party campaign-arm posts about Paxton’s “lies” were deleted after he became the nominee. Trump praised Paxton in a social media post and attacked Talarico, whom he described as a poor candidate.
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SWIPE →President who endorsed Paxton and criticized Talarico
Texas Senate candidate and Paxton's general-election opponent
Texas senator and Paxton's Republican primary opponent
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14 OUTLETS- ARTICLES
- 17
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- 14
- AVG CRED
- 67
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