As he runs for Senate, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has faced a number of defections from moderate Republican voters over his long list of scandals and his marital infidelity. But he may also be losing a handful of MAGA voters who actually think he's too soft.
These voices came out in full force this week, as Paxton took to X to tout what was clearly meant to be an economic achievement for the MAGA movement: job creation for women.
"Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, American women are leading the way in our economic comeback," said Paxton, referencing a Trump rapid response account noting that women "account for almost all net U.S. job gains since Trump took office." "This is what happens when we put hardworking Americans first."
But a number of far-right accounts were infuriated with this statement, noted Business Insider's Grace Panetta — with many of them accusing Paxton of abandoning young men.
"Fire whoever thought crafting this abomination of a post was a good idea. Fire them now," wrote Auron MacIntyre, a commentator for the far-right outlet The Blaze.
"Lost my vote," wrote Joel Webbon, a Christian nationalist pastor who has said women shouldn't even be allowed to speak in public, let alone work outside the home.
An account named "Fugitive Caesar" replied, "This is a huge disaster and a sign of intense racial, sexual discrimination against young white men. This is also personally your fault because as the Texas Attorney General you are the specific guy who is supposed to sue companies in Texas to stop them from racially, sexually discriminating against young white Christian patriotic men."
"Women should not be 'leading the way.' Economically or otherwise," wrote Eric Conn, founder of New Christendom Press. "A nation ruled by women is a judgment from God against it."
"What. Is. He. Thinking?????" wrote Megan Basham, a reporter for the right-wing Daily Wire. "Everything wrong with the conservative establishment is encapsulated in this tweet. It’s tone deaf, it’s fails to understand the moment we’re in, and it reinforces the feminist longhouse situation that we are all trying to address. Seriously what’s the matter with Republican candidates??? Is it because they have no fixed convictions so they just try to say whatever they think is the right thing to say and because they’re so insulated they don’t know how horrifically wrong they’re getting it??"
