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Cornyn predicts post-midterms will be ‘most miserable two years’ of Trump’s life

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) predicted in a new interview that the two years after the November midterm elections will be the “two most miserable years” of President Trump’s life.

Cornyn spoke New York Times In his first comprehensive interview since Trump’s loss last month to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), whom he supported shortly before the Lone Star State’s first runoff.

He predicted a tough future for Republican lawmakers and the president for the rest of Trump’s term, and suggested the Senate would also have a “bumpy ride” for the rest of this year. He added that Trump was harming the party with his insistence on “slavish” loyalty.

“This is going to make things harder in Texas, it’s certainly going to make things more expensive, and it’s going to make things harder across the country,” Cornyn said. “I’m not saying this out of any desire for revenge; I just think it’s going to happen that way. I think he’s going to have the two most miserable years of his life in the last two years of his term, because I think November is going to be a disaster.”

The Texas Republican said he was not a “wounded bear” seeking vengeance or vengeance, but argued that he had the right to choose “where I go — or not defer to Trump.”

Cornyn said he thought he and Paxton would face each other in the primary runoff without Trump’s support, but “couldn’t resist.” The senator said “when staunch MAGA supporters… see what President Trump was saying when he said that, I think it undoubtedly had an impact.”

“I think the most important factor was the low turnout, but the president’s support definitely had an impact,” he added.

Cornyn has been outspoken in his criticism of some of Trump’s policy items. While he remained loyal to Trump after the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who was also critical of the president, voted to convict him and then lost his state’s final GOP primary.

Referencing Trump’s vote to acquit the president during his second impeachment, Cornyn said Trump threw him under the bus and that if the president “does this to me, he’ll do it to everyone else.”

“It will never be good enough for him to blindly stick to whatever he wants, other than 100 percent,” the senator told the Times. “But frankly that’s not necessarily the senator’s role, especially in terms of checks and balances.”

Cornyn previously told NewsNation’s Chris Stirewalt that not having Trump’s endorsement is different from what happened to Cassidy and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who recently lost to a Trump-backed opponent.

The Texas lawmaker warned that if Democrats regain control of Congress, Trump would face a third impeachment and it would be impossible for him to pass his legislative agenda.

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