To make that happen, George P. Bush kissed up to Trump in the most obsequious — and embarrassing — ways possible.
Why did George P. bend the knee to Trump? Because he had made the calculation that if Trump endorsed Paxton — or badmouthed him — his chances of winning a Republican primary in Texas would go down. Drastically.
Which brings me to Monday night — and this statement from Trump:
“Attorney General Ken Paxton has been bravely on the front line in the fight for Texas, and America, against the vicious and very dangerous Radical Left Democrats, and the foolish and unsuspecting RINOs that are destroying our Country. … It is going to take a PATRIOT like Ken Paxton to advance America First policies in order to Make America Great Again. Ken has my Complete and Total Endorsement for another term as Attorney General of Texas. He is a true Texan who will keep Texas safeāand will never let you down!”
So, yeah.
Before I go any further, it’s probably worth noting two key facts about Paxton:
“I’m running for Attorney General because Texans deserve integrity and honesty from the office of Texas’ top law enforcement official. Texans deserve a candidate without a laundry list of existing and potential criminal indictments.”
The lesson here for Bush — and any other Republican trying to curry favor with the former president — is simple: Trump only cares about Trump, and what he perceives to be good for Trump.
Paxton brought the suit to try to overturn the election results. That is the most important thing for Trump — at least right now. And so, all of Bush’s playing nice with Trump — at the expense of, well, his entire extended family — doesn’t matter a bit.
Trump demands total loyalty from everyone. But he promises none in return. His loyalty is entirely transactional. Do something good for him, he will say something nice about you. But if someone does something even nicer — by his assessment — for him, then he will throw you over in a second for them.
George P. learned that lesson the hard way on Monday night. He won’t be the last.