U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is facing backlash from conservatives over a campaign ad that appears to manipulate audio of President Donald Trump to make it sound as if Trump praised Cornyn exclusively.
The ad, first flagged by conservative commentator Laura Loomer, uses a six-year-old clip from 2019 in which Trump appears to praise only Cornyn. However, the full video shows Trump actually saying, “our great Senators, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz.”
The ad, produced by Texans for Conservative Majority, reportedly cuts off the “s” in “Senators” and ends the clip immediately after Trump says Cornyn’s name, omitting Cruz entirely.
“The reason why John Cornyn has to use a six-year-old clip is because Cornyn is a RINO, and there is no recent footage or audio of anyone in MAGA world, including President Trump, praising Cornyn,” Loomer wrote on X.
The ad has drawn sharp criticism from conservative voices on social media.
“@JohnCornyn would do something like this. Not shocked,” Women for America First founder Kylie Jane Kremer posted on X. “Establishment Republicans think they own these seats… They just use people to make themselves relevant, which is exactly what Cornyn is doing with Trump in this ad.”
Attorney General Ken Paxton’s campaign, which is challenging Cornyn in the GOP Senate primary, also weighed in.
“It’s a terrible week to be Little John,” Paxton’s campaign told The Dallas Express. “He got exposed for not being able to raise money, was caught manipulating President Trump’s voice to pretend he’s conservative, and he’s down 20% in the polls.”
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Cornyn’s communications director, Matt Mackowiak, has been accused by activists of financially supporting a Florida sex worker — a claim he has denied.
The Dallas Express reached out to Cornyn’s campaign for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.