Times Exclusive After Senate Loss, Cornyn Predicts 'Miserable' Final Two Years for Trump (Gift Article)

[LetMyPeopleVote]

In his first extensive interview since his defeat by a Trump-backed challenger, the Texas Republican said the Senate was in for a “bumpy ride” as he and others flex new political freedom.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/11/us/john-cornyn-interview-trump.html?unlocked_article_code=1.pVA.qVr2.X6Jg8TzT7uYD&smid=tw-share

Senator John Cornyn was not consoled when President Trump professed on social media that the senior Republican from Texas would “remain my friend for a long time to come” after the president had enthusiastically endorsed the man who defeated Mr. Cornyn, ending his Senate career.

“If that’s the way friends treat you, you wonder about his enemies,” Mr. Cornyn said this week in his first extensive interview since his loss two weeks ago to Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas, an opponent Mr. Cornyn labeled corrupt and unfit for the Senate.

Mr. Cornyn said he had come to terms with his defeat, a stinging loss he attributed in part to public disillusionment with extreme partisan politics that led to low voter turnout. Now the Trump administration might find itself having to come to terms with Mr. Cornyn as he flexes new political freedom, joining a handful of other Senate Republicans not seeking re-election or defeated in primaries at Mr. Trump’s behest who now have added room to maneuver.

“I think it is going to be a pretty bumpy ride for the next seven months,” Mr. Cornyn said during a wide-ranging conversation in his Capitol office as he reflected on the tumultuous Texas election and his nearly quarter-century in Washington......

Mr. Cornyn stood by his attacks on Mr. Paxton and said that while he supported the party ticket, he would not campaign or raise money for his primary opponent — a loss for Mr. Paxton since Mr. Cornyn was a prolific fund-raiser. But he fears Republicans are in for a rough midterm and Mr. Trump for a difficult final two years, in part because of self-inflicted wounds such the president’s endorsement of Mr. Paxton putting the Texas seat at risk.

“It’s going to make things harder, certainly more expensive in Texas, and make it harder around the country,” Mr. Cornyn said, predicting that Mr. Trump would come to regret his actions. “I don’t say that with any sort of desire for vengeance; I just think that’s the way it’s going to be. He’s going to have the most miserable two years of his life in the last two years of his term, I think, because I think November is going to be a disaster.”

[displacedvermoter]

1. He is going to vote for Blanche, as will Tillis and Cassady

"New political freedom" my ass...