Trump campaigns with Paxton Close Senate races loom

Sep 30

Fox carries Trump's live remarks from a Denton manufacturing facility alongside Ken Paxton. Trump attacks Democrats' border, transgender and sports positions, urges turnout, uses a mocking party nickname and makes his own climate assertions. Baier says new Iowa and Texas Senate polls are within sampling error. Aishah Hasnie reports Trump and Vance campaigning, quotes Trump defending the Dallas convention when asked about Paxton's criticism, and gives Trump's 44% approval and 55% disapproval. She cites FEC filings for more than $61 million spent on Paxton over two days and airs Hasan Piker's warning that Talarico must satisfy supporters. From Durant, she previews Trump's later Oklahoma appearance with endorsed Mike Mazzei and James Lankford; that appearance is still future.

ABC reports newly disclosed audio in which Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton says the Dallas midterm convention lowered campaign numbers; ABC interprets the recording as blaming Trump's convention for Republican campaign difficulties. Asked that day, Trump says the convention was amazing. The report places the disclosure in the competitive Paxton–Talarico contest and airs John Cornyn's warning about centering campaigns on Trump amid weaker favorability. Muir reports a Texas campaign appearance with Paxton scheduled for the following day, not completed. The unnamed polling references establish no new identified survey. ABC's October 1 report revisits the same Paxton recording and airs Trump's subsequent Texas praise of Paxton alongside his complaint that Paxton can be difficult. It supplies campaign and unnamed-poll context. This is a compatible follow-up to the September 30 disclosure; the October 1 tour launch is indexed separately and neither polling reference identifies a new survey release. The complete October 1 White House departure gaggle supplies the original question about Paxton's private criticism and why Trump would visit Texas. Trump insists the convention succeeded, claims 107 million views against 24 million for the NFL, and cites his prior Texas electoral support. These are his responses and claimed ratings, not a new audio disclosure or independently verified audience measurements. The full September 30 Oval Office response establishes that Trump says he has not heard the reported Paxton comments, allows they might be possible and defends the convention as amazing. He claims a much larger audience than NFL games and says a similar gathering might be repeated. The original source expands the short contemporaneous ABC response with its qualifications; it establishes neither the audience claim independently nor another completed convention.