Must-Win MAGA Candidate Humiliates Himself With U.S. History Howler
The Trump-endorsed Senate candidate could use a history lesson.
President Donald Trump’s handpicked Texas Senate candidate apparently thinks it’s 1976.
Scandal-ridden Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton welcomed the 80-year-old president to a rally in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Tuesday, only to reveal to voters that he might need a history lesson.
“So I want to finish, as you know, uh, July 4, we celebrated something pretty cool,” Paxton, 63, said. “We celebrated the 200th anniversary of our country.”
Paxton was half a century off. In July, the U.S. celebrated its semiquincentennial—its 250th anniversary, not its 200th.
Trump came to Texas to campaign for Paxton, who's facing a tough race against Democratic star James Talarico.
Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS
His opponent, Democratic state representative James Talarico, corrected him while adding a jab about the European getaway Paxton took with his mistress this most recent Independence Day weekend.
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“It was actually our 250th anniversary,” Talarico, 37, wrote in response to a clip of Paxton’s error on X. “Not that you would know—you spent it with the British.”

Talarico pounced on the opportunity to make fun of his opponent's flub.
James Talarico/X
Paxton’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
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Paxton notably skipped celebrating America’s 250 years of independence in Texas. Instead, he spent it with his mistress, Christian influencer Tracy Duhon, in the very country that the U.S. declared independence from in 1776.
He and Duhon, 58, were caught on camera “gallivanting” near the Westminster Bridge and the London Eye during the July 4 weekend, according to footage obtained by the Daily Mail.
The couple’s first stop on the trip had been Iceland, as Paxton and Duhon were seen boarding a flight from Washington, D.C., to Reykjavík.
Talarico’s team also capitalized on the political misstep over the summer.
“James Talarico spent the Fourth of July in Texas with American icon Willie Nelson,” his campaign wrote on X. “Ken Paxton spent the Fourth of July with the British.”

@TeamTalarico/X
The Texas Democratic Party also chimed in, calling Paxton’s trip unpatriotic given the timing.
“The last place any patriotic Texan would be during the week of America’s historic 250th anniversary is vacationing in England,” spokesperson Ryan Martin said. “Hardworking Texans are struggling to afford the basics because of Paxton-backed policies, but you won’t find Paxton caring—he’s off enjoying a lavish European vacation with his mistress.”

Angela filed for divorce on “biblical grounds.”
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Paxton remains legally married to his wife, Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, though she “filed for divorce on biblical grounds” last year. The couple shares four children.
During his Corpus Christi rally on Tuesday, Paxton also flubbed his pronunciation of “Christianity,” pronouncing it differently twice within ten seconds.
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