Trump's Tough-Guy Act Is Finally Falling Apart (w/ Will Saletan)

Summary

Podcast Summary: Trump's Tough-Guy Act Is Finally Falling Apart

The Bulwark, June 7, 2026

Host: Mona Charen
Guest: Will Saletan

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Episode Overview

In this episode of The Bulwark, Mona Charen and Will Saletan deliver a sharply critical analysis of recent Texas politics, centered on the Republican nomination of Ken Paxton—despite an avalanche of corruption scandals. Drawing from both personal and political perspectives, the conversation explores what Paxton’s win says about the transformation of the Texas GOP, the nature of contemporary primaries, and the broader implications for American democracy. Throughout, the hosts contrast the old “good soldier” ethos of the GOP with the current MAGA-dominated landscape.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Texas and Stereotypes

• Will Saletan opens with personal stories about his Texas roots, playfully debunking both his own “Texan-ness” and coastal stereotypes.
• They share a light moment about how many “Will S.’s from Texas” work at The Bulwark, ending with, “The Bulwark has cornered the market on Will S's from Texas.” (A, 01:15)

2. The Political Landscape in Texas

• Mona highlights how rare Democratic victories have become in Texas’s Senate races, with Lloyd Bentsen noted as the last successful Democrat.
• They recall George H.W. Bush’s joke about being a Texan:

  "My mother was in Connecticut. And I felt that at a time like that, it was important to be with your mother." (A, 02:02)

3. The Ken Paxton Effect

• Mona and Will lay out Ken Paxton’s extensive record of corruption: impeached by his own party, reported for malfeasance by his staff, and heavily associated with efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
• Mona is blunt:

  “The voters in Texas cannot have missed how bad a human he is. And by the way, John Cornyn dumped tens of millions of dollars in ads reinforcing all those ways. So he impeached by his own party, which is astounding.” (A, 04:06)

• Will adds dryly:

  “He sacrificed a goat. The goat was John Cornyn.” (B, 05:19)

4. Trump’s Endorsement and Party Loyalty

• Trump endorsed Paxton over John Cornyn, a more traditional, establishment Republican who himself ran an aggressive anti-Paxton campaign.
• Mona calls out the absurdity of Cornyn’s continued loyalty despite Trump’s betrayal:

  “His reward was a kick in the teeth.” (A, 10:18)

• Will reflects:

  “Back in the days when this was sort of an organized political party with some principles… you stood there and said, I will support the party and the ticket. And so it's like Cornyn is still operating on that reflex, and he hasn't made the move that you've made, which is to say we're not living in that world anymore... This is not a decent person you just lost to.” (B, 10:35–11:30)

5. Voters, Primaries, and Participation

• The significance of voter turnout is dissected. The low turnout in the runoff (about 8% of the electorate) is seen as pivotal:

  “It may be that what we had in the runoff was, you know, this residual constituency of really hardcore MAGA people... you can fault more the people who stayed home.” (B, 07:05)

• Mona notes the math:

  “Paxton got the exact same number of votes both times. So if it was not for the falloff in voters who came out and voted for Hunt and Cornyn first time out, you wouldn't have had that result.” (A, 08:13)

• Will references Cornyn’s post-election statement:

  “‘In our democracy, those who show up decide for those who don't,’ which was kind of an oblique way of rebuking all the people who stayed home. This is what you get, people.” (B, 08:55)

6. Party Culture and Decline of Old Norms

• Mona castigates Cornyn for promising to support the Republican ticket even after all that came out in the campaign:

  “I think for him to say on election night that after the campaign that he just ran... for him to then say, I will support the ticket, I mean, come on, man.” (A, 09:12)

• Will compares the current landscape to the “old Bush Republican ethic,” emphasizing how outdated the “good soldier” mentality has become in the MAGA era.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Mo Udall’s Famous Line, Twice Referenced:

  “Well, the people have spoken. The bastards.” (A, 00:00; A, 11:30)

• On Cornyn’s Party Reflex:

  “He just doesn't seem like he's absorbed that yet. No.” (B, 11:30)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–02:36: Texas roots, Bush’s Texan identity, and playful banter about stereotypes.
• 02:36–06:11: Texas politics overview; recent history of Democratic and Republican senators.
• 06:11–08:13: Dissection of Ken Paxton’s record, voter choices, and Trump’s endorsement.
• 08:13–09:12: Analysis of turnout, runoff math, and participation consequences.
• 09:12–11:30: Cornyn’s campaign, party loyalty, the diminishing value of old norms.

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Summary for Non-Listeners

This episode offers a lively, often biting breakdown of the Ken Paxton nomination, mocking both his record and the dereliction of Texas Republican voters. Mona and Will use vivid anecdotes, sharp humor, and dismay at the party’s moral decay to illustrate a broader national concern: the collapse of traditional party structures and the rise of extremism enabled by disengaged mainstream voters. Their lament for “the old Bush Republican ethic” and critique of reflexive party loyalty underscore the seriousness—and absurdity—of the moment in Texas and national politics.

Transcript

[A]

My favorite story about how to handle a loss is from Mo Udall, who lost a primary and then went out before the microphones and said, well, the people have spoken. The bastards. Welcome to the Mona Charon Show. Thanks so much for joining me today. I am joined also by my friend and colleague Will Salatin of the Bulwark. And we are here, here to talk a lot of Texas today. Hi, Will.

[B]

Hi, Mona.

[A]

It's no accident that I want to talk to you about Texas. You are from Texas.

[B]

I am. So not many people know this. I am Will S. From Texas at the Bulwark. Guess how many of us there have been in the time that the Bulwark has been around.

[A]

So there's Will Sommer. Is he also from Texas?

[B]

Also from Texas.

[A]

Wow. Will Selber. Is he also from Texas?

[B]

Also from Texas.

[A]

Unbelievable.

[B]

I am not even the only Jewish Will S. From Texas.

[A]

I know. That's amazing.

[B]

The Bulwark has cornered the market on Will S's from Texas.

[A]

Some of us east coast types may have certain stereotypical ideas of what Texans are like.

[B]

I hear this about you east coast types.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. Us east coast types. Speaking of stereotypes. Okay, so I don't. I'll just say this right out. You don't strike me as fitting that stereotype. So where did you grow up?

[B]

I grew up in La Porte, Texas, however, so confession. I was not born in Texas. For some Texans, that's it. You're not a real Texan. We moved to Texas. I was three and a half years old. So from that time until I went to college, I lived in Texas continuously. And then my family was there.

[A]

George H.W. bush had a joke that he often liked to tell on the campaign trail. You may have heard it. He would be apologetic about not having been born in Texas, though he did become a Texan later. He settled there, but he said, my mother was in Connecticut. And I felt that at a time like that, it was important to be with your mother.

[B]

That sounds a lot like him.

[A]

It's a good line. Right.

[B]

But he solved the native Texan thing in the next generation. So that worked out.

[A]

That's true. That is true. Okay, so the last time. You can check me on this, but the last time there was a Democrat elected to the Senate from Texas was Lloyd Benson. Is that. Does that sound right?

[B]

Pretty sure. There was a Lloyd Benson and John Tower were contemporaries. And after that point, no, I don't think there's been any of anyone since.

[A]

So now because the Republicans feel really bad about that and think it's just not fair that there hasn't been a Democrat in so long representing Texas. They decided to nominate Ken Paxton. I don't know if you saw Karl Rove went a little ballistic in his column about this because it's so damaging in so many ways. But let's start with the fact that it is getting harder and harder to be the kind of commentator who says, well, of course the voters are misinformed, or the voters don't know about the level of corruption of this or that person that they voted for, or the voters really weren't voting because he's a bad person and they like it. They were voting because they think he's a fighter, and there needs to be a fighter when it comes to Ken Paxton. The voters in Texas cannot have missed how bad a human he is. And by the way, John Cornyn dumped tens of millions of dollars in ads reinforcing all those ways. So he impeached by his own party, which is astounding. He was the attorney General. His own staff reported him to the FBI for malfeasance in office.

[B]

By the way, Mona, wasn't Chip Roy one of those people?

[A]

I believe that may be right. I'm not sure about that.

[B]

Yeah, he was on his staff. I think he was.

[A]

Okay, so. Right. So he, he's been guilty of bribery of. Well, charged with bribery, misuse of office. He certainly had a very ugly divor where his wife accused him of biblical something or others. I don't know exactly what that means.

[B]

The only biblical thing he's ever been accused of.

[A]

I don't know.

[B]

Did he.

[A]

Yeah, maybe he. I don't know. Did he sacrifice a goat on the wrong day or something? But, but anyway, he.

[B]

He sacrificed a goat. The goat was John Cornyn. But. Sorry, continue.

[A]

Right. And, and there's a lot more. There's. There's so much more in the realm of corruption and misuse of office. And, and, and then, of course, you know, he led the charge on the fake election. You know, the, the election was stolen stuff, filing suits alleging, you know, that, that other states votes should not be counted. He is just a nightmare of a human and hated by, by even the most MAGA people in his own party. Okay. Trump endorsed him over John Cornyn, who would clearly have walked away with the general election no problem. And. Oh, so you think that's not so clear?

[B]

The polling was not clear on that. However, if you factor in that the polls probably overestimated Talarico's performance, given that the nasty primary was going on on the Republican Side, if you factor that in, it would have definitely moved to corn inside.

[A]

Okay, well, I was thinking of all of those matchup polling, which is, you know, they're not very useful, but they give you a flavor. And. And it always showed that Cornyn would beat Talarico, but it didn't show that Cornyn, that. That Paxton could. Well, anyway, but Trump endorsed Cornyn. What do you think? Is there any charitable interpretation of the Republican primary voters who chose Paxton?

[B]

I don't think there's a charitable interpretation. Well, first of all, let me stipulate John Cornyn gave a charitable interpretation on election night. He said these people voted for change. They wanted to. That's all. They voted for change. And that is always a plausible explanation. People show up, they don't like the way things are. Here's the incumbent. I'm going to vote against him. You're turning out in a runoff. That probably means you're particularly interested. You're not just pulling the lever. You decided to come out and vote for somebody. So maybe less charitable there, but the point that Cornyn made about the people who did turn out was that they only. He said they only constituted 8% of the electorate. Now, you factor out Democrats, Independents, whatnot. So a lot of people stayed home. And it may be that what we had in the. In the runoff was, you know, this residual constituency of really hardcore MAGA people, so that you can fault more the people who stayed home. And whereas the MAGA people who showed up, they're, I don't want to say unsalvageable, but that you weren't going to get their votes for the right thing anyway.

[A]

So that's so interesting and, you know, it is revealing, isn't it, that if you look at the vote numbers of the first round of voting before the runoff, and then you look at the numbers for the runoff, Paxton got the exact same number of votes both times. So if it was not for the falloff in voters who came out and voted for Hunt and Cornyn first time out, you wouldn't have had that result. So it is those hardcore MAGA people who came out for Paxton the first time and stuck with him for the second time, but then the other voters just went away into the.

[B]

Yeah, and one of the things that Cornyn said on that election night speech was he said, in our democracy, those who show up decide for those who don't, which was kind of an oblique way of rebuking all the people who stayed home. This is what you get, people.

[A]

That is true. Although. Okay, I have to say about Cornyn, you know, maybe he needs a little time to, you know, lick his wounds and adjust to the fact that he's out of a job that he's held for, I don't know, 30 years or whatever it is. Okay, so, fine, maybe he'll get his anger up a little bit and stop being such a whipped puppy. But I think for him to say on election night that after the campaign that he just ran, showing every horrible thing that Paxton has ever said or done, spending tens of millions of dollars to make that point, for him to then say, I will support the ticket, I mean, come on, man. You know, maybe he'll. But he is just such a factotum. He's just such a, I don't know, kind of colorless party man who doesn't think for himself. And his reward, by the way, for being this slavish supporter of Trump and doing ads where he was reading from the art of the deal and promising to name highways after Trump. His reward was a kick in the teeth.

[B]

Mona, what has happened to you? I mean, you've become radicalized, so you hung out with, you know, this old. This is an old Bush Republican ethic. We were just talking about the Bushes, right? Back in the days when this was sort of an organized political party with some principles. And people can argue about whether they like those principles or not. But this was what you did. You ran in the primary, and if you lost, you were a good soldier, and you did what a well educated, well brought up person would do, and you stood there and said, I will support the party and the ticket. And so it's like Cornyn is still operating on that reflex, and he hasn't made the move that you've made, which is to say we're not living in that world anymore where the people that you're. That you just lost to are decent. This is not a decent person you just lost to. And he just doesn't seem like he's absorbed that yet. No.

[A]

And, and, and in that way, you know, he. He speaks for many. By the way, my favorite story about how to handle a loss is from Mo Udall, who lost a primary and then went out before the microphones and said, well, the people have spoken. The bastards. Great.