Washington DC - President Donald Trump sent shockwaves through the Republican Party and his MAGA base by endorsing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for Senate over longtime incumbent John Cornyn.
In a lengthy Truth Social post shared Tuesday, the president praised Paxton as "extremely loyal to me and our AMAZING MAGA MOVEMENT," and said that as a Senator, Paxton will help him maintain America's status as "the 'HOTTEST' Country anywhere in the World."
Trump went on to say that while Cornyn is a "good man," he noted the Senator was "not supportive of me when times were tough."
The endorsement comes after Cornyn and Paxton failed to win majority votes in the state's Republican primaries, forcing the two to head to a runoff election set for May 26.
For months, Trump had teased his endorsement for the race. In March, he said he would announce his endorsement soon, adding that he would ask whoever he doesn't endorse to "immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE!"
At the time, Paxton vowed to stay in the race, no matter who Trump supported.
The winner of the Republican runoff will go on to the midterms in November to face Democrat James Talarico, who has gained the ire of Trump and Republicans amid his rapid rise in popularity.