Cornyn Just Proved He Was Always Fake MAGA and the Evidence Is Embarrassing

John Cornyn posted a photo of himself reading The Art of the Deal on social media to court Donald Trump's endorsement.

Trump endorsed Ken Paxton instead – and Paxton crushed Cornyn by 28 points.

Now Cornyn just revealed what he actually thinks about Trump – and it's exactly what his voters always suspected.

A Desperate Play That Fooled Nobody

The photo stunt was only the beginning.

In May, with Cornyn locked in a brutal runoff against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Trump's endorsement still up for grabs, Cornyn introduced the I-47 Future Interstate Act – legislation to rename U.S. Highway 287 as the "Trump Interstate" in honor of the 47th president.

"Texas is Trump Country," Cornyn declared in a statement, "and this bill cements that legacy by designating nearly 1,800 miles of open road from Texas' Gulf Coast to the edge of the U.S.-Canadian border as I-47 to forever be remembered as Trump Interstate."

Days later, Trump endorsed Paxton.

Trump's Truth Social post acknowledged Cornyn was "a good man" but made clear the reason for the snub: Cornyn "was not supportive of me when times were tough."

That was a direct reference to 2023, when Cornyn told reporters: "I think President Trump's time has passed him by."

He didn't stop there.

"I don't think President Trump understands that when you run in a general election, you have to appeal to voters beyond your base," Cornyn said at the time.

Trump won every battleground state in the general election.

Cornyn lost his Senate seat by 28 points.

The Record MAGA Couldn't Forgive

Cornyn's team spent the entire primary cycle pointing to his 99% voting record alignment with Trump.

It didn't work – because MAGA voters weren't just looking at votes.

They remembered the 2022 bipartisan gun control bill Cornyn helped negotiate, which triggered Trump to brand him a "RINO" helping "Radical Left Democrats" take away your guns.

They remembered Cornyn calling Trump's 2023 federal indictment over classified documents "very serious" and noting it was "out of his hands."

They remembered him praising Nikki Haley and urging the party to find "an alternative" to Trump for 2024.

And they remembered him dismissing Paxton's 2023 impeachment as "a source of embarrassment" to the Republican Party – a direct shot at a man Trump would later call "a true MAGA Warrior."

Trump called Cornyn "John 'The Stiff'" and compared him to Mitt Romney.

No photo of The Art of the Deal was going to erase that.

The Mask Comes Off the Moment He Loses

Now that the runoff is over, Cornyn has dropped any pretense of MAGA loyalty.

He told Hearst Newspapers this week that the Trump Interstate bill "may not make it into my priorities the next seven months."

He's also joined Senators Lisa Murkowski and Bill Cassidy to actively block Trump's pick for acting director of national intelligence, Bill Pulte, saying he has "yet to see any evidence that he meets the statutory requirement."

That's not a principled stand on qualifications – that's a lame-duck RINO unshackling himself the moment voters can't punish him for it.

Paxton crushed him 63.8% to 36.2% on May 26 – the first time a sitting Texas Republican senator had been knocked out in a primary since 1970.

The lesson is one every Republican in Washington should memorize: you cannot spend years undermining Trump, slap his name on a highway when you need something, and expect the base to forget.

They never forget.

And neither does Trump.

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Sources:

• Cameron Peters, "Cornyn says renaming highway after Trump no longer a priority after loss to Paxton," Washington Examiner, June 4, 2026.
• Howard Koplowitz, "John Cornyn's Revenge? Plan to Rename Major Highway After Trump Put on Ice," Newsweek, June 5, 2026.
• "John Cornyn backing off Donald Trump highway dedication push after primary loss," The Hill, June 6, 2026.
• Staff, "Ken Paxton cruises to big win against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in Texas GOP primary runoff," Houston Public Media, May 26, 2026.
• Mitchell Ferman and Patrick Svitek, "How John Cornyn Chased Donald Trump – and Lost His Senate Career," Texas Monthly, May 2026.
• Staff, "Cornyn's Weak Fight For the SAVE Act Cost Him Trump's Support," The Federalist, May 20, 2026.