“Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough reacted Tuesday morning to Ken Paxton’s confirmation as the Republican Party’s Texas Senate nominee, joking, “Every Democrat in America says, ‘Thank you.’”
“During his time in office, Ken Paxton has repeatedly been accused of bribery, fraud and self-dealing, but has never been convicted of a crime,” “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski said Tuesday, prompting Scarborough to note that many of the allegations against Paxton have come from other members of his own party. He went on to call out Republicans for choosing Paxton over his Republican competitor, John Cornyn.
“People say, ‘Oh, there needs to be a strong Republican.’ Really? This is what the Republican Primary gives you?” Scarborough asked, continuing, “No, I don’t think there needs to be a strong Republican Party, especially if this is what the Republican Party produces.”
“When it comes to sheer awfulness for a political candidate, Paxton’s sort of a unicorn,” Scarborough said, noting, “He has all of these different traits.” You can watch the full “Morning Joe” segment yourself in the video below.
Scarborough continued criticizing the Republican Party’s endorsement of Paxton, arguing that the organization has just ensured it is going to have to spend money on Paxton’s Texas campaign that could have been used elsewhere.
“Did Texas Republicans just cost the Republican Party $20 million? Definitely cost them money,” Scarborough said. “$30 million, $50 million, $100 million that they could have spent in Maine, that they could have spent in Iowa, that they could have spent in Ohio, that they could have spent in Alaska. They have cost Republicans maybe $100 million that could go to other competitive races.”
“Meanwhile, Donald Trump has enraged Republican senators who are now saying, ‘OK, first of all, you get this yahoo that you endorse, and now we’re going to have to work with a rightfully very angry John Cornyn, Thom Tillis, John Thune?’” Scarborough noted of Trump’s endorsement of Paxton, calling the latter’s nominee confirmation “a huge win for Democrats.”
“The DNC just got a $100 million windfall, thanks to Texas voters,” Scarborough concluded.
