To be a Donald Trump–endoresed political candidate, you must possess many qualities: Integrity. Empathy. Intelligence. A love of the United States and all who inhabit it.Just kidding! You don’t have to have any of those things. You just have to suck up to him more than the other guy.The president made that clearer than ever in a post to Truth Social Sunday, in which he explained the complex reasons behind his endorsement of Ken Paxton in the Texas Republican Senate primary.Paxton was “very loyal to your favorite President, ME,” Trump wrote. “Ken’s opponent was VERY disloyal to me.”Trump’s obsession with fealty over everything is quite pronounced in the case of Paxton, an awful person with a long history of scandals. Paxton cheated on his wife, was impeached by the state House on corruption charges, and illegally helped donors by targeting their enemies as state attorney general. Last month, his office offered a sweetheart plea deal to a repeated child molester that would see the offender spend just one day in jail.Paxton should never be able to get the endorsement of a sitting president. It’s not even like his Republican rival, John Cornyn, doesn’t suck up to Trump. But Paxton has given the president voracious, consistent support over the years. It’s as simple as that for our commander in chief.Paxton will face Cornyn in a run-off Tuesday night that is projected to go Trump’s way. The winner will advance to the general in November against Democrat James Talarico, a progressive Christian with a quiet cadence and the face of a Boy Scout.Talarico won a close primary of his own against Representative Jasmine Crockett in March. He will have an uphill battle in a state as red and as anti-abortion as Texas, but is actually ahead in recent polls. Election pundits such as Nate Silver are giving Talarico a good shot, particularly if the controversial Paxton wins Tuesday.
