Trump calls Ken Paxton 'pain in the ass' at Texas rally
President Trump made the remark about the Texas Attorney General during a campaign stop for the Senate candidate.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Trump calls Ken Paxton 'pain in the ass' at Texas rally
Photograph: The Independent (US) (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Donald Trump called Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton "a pain in the ass" during a rally in Denton, Texas.
- The remark followed reports of leaked audio in which Paxton allegedly told donors that a recent Republican convention Trump headlined negatively affected GOP poll numbers.
- Paxton's senior adviser disputed the leaked audio, calling it 'manipulated nonsense' and stating internal polls show Paxton leading.
- Trump reaffirmed his endorsement of Paxton for the U.S. Senate despite the remarks.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 9 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
50/100
Craft
65/100
Hype
45/100
9 sources · methodology
Donald Trump publicly referred to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as "a pain in the ass" during a rally in Denton, Texas. Trump made the comment while campaigning for Paxton, who is running for the U.S. Senate. The president also questioned Paxton's attendance at the rally, asking "Is he here, by the way?" before spotting him in the crowd.
The remark followed reports of leaked audio in which Paxton allegedly told donors that a recent Republican convention headlined by Trump had a negative impact on GOP poll numbers. Paxton's senior adviser, Nick Maddux, disputed the report, calling the audio "manipulated nonsense" and stating that internal polls show Paxton leading. Trump reaffirmed his endorsement of Paxton for the Senate, calling him a "special man" and one of the most loyal people in his political orbit.
Disagreement on leaked audio
Reports of leaked audio quoted Ken Paxton telling donors that a recent Republican convention Trump headlined negatively impacted GOP poll numbers. Paxton's senior adviser, Nick Maddux, disputed this report, calling it 'manipulated nonsense' and stating internal polls show Paxton leading. The New York Times was cited by RadarOnline as the source of the leaked audio report.
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated digests mention the specific details of the leaked audio report regarding Paxton's alleged comments about poll numbers dropping after the convention. The left-rated and centre-rated reports, including full reports from The Independent and RadarOnline, included these details and Paxton's defence against them.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 2 Oct 2026, 19:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
Source: MEGAPresident Donald Trump took jabs at Texas Senate nominee Ken Paxton.
RadarOnline — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
5 rated outlets
- Left-rated reports from The Independent, LGBTQ Nation, Crooks and Liars, and Mediaite focused on Trump's insult to Paxton. The Independent's full report stated Trump called Paxton "a pain in the ass" and noted Paxton's tight U.S. Senate race against Democrat James Talarico. LGBTQ Nation and Mediaite highlighted Trump's surprise at seeing Paxton after making the insult. Crooks and Liars noted Trump's history of publicly insulting Paxton, referencing previous comments about Paxton's appearance and speaking ability.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- Centre-rated reports from RadarOnline and dailymail.com highlighted Trump's insult to Paxton during the rally. RadarOnline's full report detailed the exchange, including Trump's comment about Paxton being "a pain in the a--" and his subsequent questioning of his attendance. It also mentioned the convention controversy and earlier digs at Paxton's appearance. Dailymail.com's digest noted the comment was made while Paxton tries to defeat Democrat James Talarico in a race that could decide control of the Senate.
Right
2 rated outlets
- Right-rated reports from thedailybs.com and Times of India focused on Trump's endorsement of Paxton alongside the insult. Thedailybs.com's digest mentioned Trump calling Paxton "a pain in the ass" while simultaneously praising him as the country's best attorney general, and also noted the appearance of Dennis Rodman and a story about Democrat James Talarico. Times of India's digest described Trump's remarks as "unusually candid" about an endorsed candidate just weeks before the election.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Trump calls Ken Paxton 'pain in the ass' at Texas rally?
- Of the 9 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 56% are rated left, 22% are rated centre, 22% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Trump calls Ken Paxton 'pain in the ass' at Texas rally left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 9 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Trump calls Ken Paxton 'pain in the ass' at Texas rally biased?
- Trump calls Ken Paxton 'pain in the ass' at Texas rally is one event reported by 9 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which outlets covered Trump calls Ken Paxton 'pain in the ass' at Texas rally?
- 9 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did Donald Trump say about Ken Paxton at the rally?
- Donald Trump called Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton "a pain in the ass" during a rally in Denton, Texas. He also questioned if Paxton was present at the event before spotting him.
- Why did Trump call Paxton a 'pain in the ass'?
- The remark followed reports of leaked audio where Paxton allegedly told donors that a recent Republican convention Trump headlined negatively impacted GOP poll numbers. Paxton's team disputed the audio as 'manipulated nonsense'.
- Did Trump withdraw his endorsement of Paxton?
- No, Donald Trump reaffirmed his endorsement of Ken Paxton for the U.S. Senate despite the remarks made at the rally. He called Paxton a 'special man' and one of his most loyal allies.
Read it at the source
9 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
5- Trump gets petty with Ken Paxton during crucial Texas rally (opens The Independent in a new tab)
The Independent — is The Independent biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Trump gets petty with Ken Paxton during crucial Texas rally (opens The Independent (US) in a new tab)
The Independent (US) — is The Independent (US) biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Trump surprised to see Ken Paxton standing right there when he called him a “pain in the a**” (opens LGBTQ Nation in a new tab)
LGBTQ Nation — is LGBTQ Nation biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump Tells TX Rally Crowd Ken Paxton Is A 'Pain In The A**' (opens Crooks and Liars in a new tab)
Crooks and Liars — is Crooks and Liars biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump Tells Crowd Ken Paxton Is ‘A Pain in the A**’ Before Asking, ‘Is He Here, by the Way?’ (opens Mediaite in a new tab)
Centre
2- Donald Trump Insults Ken Paxton Again During Texas Rally — After GOP Senate Nominee Got Dissing Prez in Leaked Audio (opens RadarOnline in a new tab)
RadarOnline — is RadarOnline biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump jokes Ken Paxton is 'a pain' whilst speaking at rally (opens dailymail.com in a new tab)
dailymail.com — is dailymail.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
2- Trump calls Ken Paxton a ‘pain in the ass,’ revives Talarico vomiting story — then Dennis Rodman enters the speech (opens thedailybs.com in a new tab)
thedailybs.com — is thedailybs.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- 'One of the most...': Trump endorses Paxton, then drops a wild ‘pain in the a**’ joke (opens Times of India in a new tab)
Times of India — is Times of India biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
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