A MAGA candidate’s attempt to fire up his base just days before the midterms took an awkward turn on his home turf.
Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general running for Senate, met with supporters at a barbecue restaurant in Abilene—and got only a smattering of polite applause and unenthusiastic cheers from a small crowd.
Paxton, 63, staged a rally at Betty Rose’s Little Brisket and even got help from Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso, who came in from Wyoming, to rally the troops.
“We need to send Ken Paxton to the United States Senate,” Barrasso said. “Please join me in welcoming the next senator from the great state of Texas, Ken Paxton.”
The introduction drew some cheers and prompted the audience to get up on their feet—but all momentum was lost after Paxton took more than a minute to get onstage, leaving his supporters awkwardly standing with their phones in the air.
FOX 4’s livestream of the event largely zoomed in on the speakers. But in a clip posted online by independent journalist Aaron Rupar, the rally appeared sparsely populated, with a small crowd clapping awkwardly and exclaiming “Yeah” as Paxton finally walked out.
“It’s great to be in Abilene. This is an incredible crowd,” he said. “We have a lot of great people here. What a great crowd. I can already tell you you’re a good crowd.”
Paxton also took a dig at his opponent, Democratic candidate James Talarico, who has drawn criticism from MAGA for his dietary preferences.
“We love choosing barbecue places because we know for sure that the vegan campaign of James Talarico won’t show up,” Paxton quipped. Talarico has said repeatedly he is not vegan, and he has been photographed eating meat, including barbecue.
The Republican candidate then began delivering his remarks while the audience was still standing, leading to even more awkwardness.
“So I’ve unveiled my Protecting the Texas Promise Plan. This is an economic vision to put thousands of dollars back into the pockets of hardworking Texans like you,” he began to say. As he went on, the crowd slowly began taking their seats.
“Yeah, sit down—if you want to. You don’t have to,” Paxton said. “I’m not ordering you to sit down.”
Later in his speech, Paxton touted that he sued pharmaceutical giant Pfizer over its COVID vaccine, drawing applause from a handful of people in the audience.
“I sued Pfizer for lying about the vaccine and lie they did,” Paxton said. “You can clap. I thought it was good.”
At various other points throughout his speech, Paxton remarked that “somebody’s phone is going off or something” and that “somebody is at the door.”
Paxton’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
The crowd size drew mockery online, with X and YouTube users alike wondering whether the venue was a janitor’s closet, a basement, or a warehouse.
It’s not the first time a MAGA politician has been jeered over crowd size. Another Texas rally attended by President Donald Trump on Tuesday was mocked for the size of its venue.
“Good to see the MAGA movement is dying,” one X user wrote. “They’re going extinct.”
