Trump's teasing is the price Paxton had to pay to use Republican midterm convention to raise money

DALLAS (AP) — President Donald Trump said he wasn’t going to say it — and then he said it anyway. For the second night in a row at the Republicans’ midterm convention, he mocked Ken Paxton on stage.

“I don’t really like the way he looks,” Trump told the laughing crowd in Paxton's home state of Texas. But never mind that because “he was our greatest attorney general and he deserves to go to the United States Senate.”

Paxton just grinned. After all, he needs the money. He’s locked in a tight race with Democratic nominee James Talarico, and Trump helped turn the convention stage into a national fundraiser for one of his party’s most important yet outfunded candidates.

“I need your prayers, your votes and your support,” Paxton said during his turn at the microphone.

The money has started to flow to him with two months to go. MAGA Inc., Trump's super PAC, announced last week it would spend $10 million. America PAC, which is connected to Elon Musk, has spent $250,000. The Senate Leadership Fund on Friday contributed about $43 million.

Paxton is perhaps Trump’s biggest political test this year. The president endorsed Paxton on the eve of his defeat of four-term incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the May primary runoff, over the objections of Republican leaders including Thune, who viewed Cornyn as a far stronger candidate than the state’s scandal-plagued attorney general.

If Paxton wins, it will be hailed as proof of Trump’s political instincts and his ability to mold the Republican Party in his image. If he loses, it would be the first time that Texas has sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1988, and Trump could be blamed for doing too little, too late.

With so much riding on the race, the teasing from Trump seems to be a small price to pay for Paxton, who is enduring quite a lot of mockery.

Trump started it last week in the Oval Office, when he said “some people don’t like the way he dresses, or some people don’t like the way he interviews or talks.”

Later that night in the Rose Garden, it became clear that by “some people,” Trump meant himself.

“It’s so insulting to him, but I might as well say it. You might not love his look. You might not love his television interviews,” Trump said. But he added that Paxton's record as attorney general “speaks a lot louder than the suit he’s wearing that doesn’t look so great.”

Paxton is not the kind of camera-ready, high-energy political performer that Trump usually prefers. A bit rumpled, he speaks softly, even in front of thousands. But he’s distinguished himself as a conservative legal warrior, especially when he challenged President Joe Biden’s Democratic policies in court.

He also shares Trump’s sense of political persecution.

“The press, the courts and the establishment all tried to take President Trump down, but he’s won every single time,” Paxton told the convention audience this week. “He’s delivered more for this country than anyone before, secured victories for America that no other president could, and always stood up for Texas.”

Paxton has been the target of investigations for years. He was impeached by the Republican-led Texas House but acquitted by the Senate. A federal corruption case was dropped without charges, and a state probe into securities fraud allegations was settled. Paxton has consistently denied wrongdoing.

But Paxton's victory is an important part of Republicans' efforts to keep control of the Senate. South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the Senate majority leader who opposed Paxton's candidacy against Cornyn, held a fundraiser with Paxton on Thursday morning, according to a Republican operative with knowledge of the event but who was unauthorized to discuss the event and spoke on condition of anonymity.

When comparing candidates' campaign accounts, Talarico has an overwhelming advantage, having raised $68 million to Paxton's $9 million. Under federal election rules, candidates get cheaper advertising rates than independent organizations like super PACs.

Since the primary, Talarico and one smaller allied group have spent $37.8 million on advertising, while four super PACs have carried almost the entire load for Paxton, spending $24.4 million, according to AdImpact.

While Senate Republican leaders complained loudly last year that Paxton’s record of ethical and legal questions would require at least $100 million more to carry him to victory, even in a Republican-heavy state like Texas, they petitioned Trump and his team to open up their coffers.

“There's no sense bubble wrapping it. We've got a race in Texas,” Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, told Fox News last month. He added that “money is an issue” and “we need help from the president."

President Donald Trump stands on stage at the Republican convention, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton arrives to speak at the Republican convention Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the Republican convention Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Attendees hold posters for Ken Paxton as they cheer while President Donald Trump speaks at the Republican convention Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the Republican convention Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

NEW YORK (AP) — Twenty-five years ago, Brielle Saracini was 10 years old and trying to cope with losing her father, Victor Saracini, the pilot on United flight 175, which was taken over by the 9/11 hijackers and crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

Spurred on by a friend, she wrote a letter to Derek Jeter, met the Yankees captain at Yankee Stadium and formed a lifelong friendship.

On Friday, as New York commemorated the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, Saracini threw out the ceremonial first pitch with Jeter watching from the mound before the Yankees hosted the crosstown Mets.

“I remember just talking about anything and everything and anything that kind of came through my mind that day and you just made it so comfortable and I remember just feeling normal for a day, which was hard to do,” Saracini said while sitting next to Jeter at a news conference. “The odds were stacked against me that day but I remember just taking a minute and just having normal conversations and just feeling like a kid.”

Jeter remembers trying his best in a tough situation.

“When we invited her to the stadium, you really don’t know what to say,” Jeter said. “So I don’t even know if I said ‘I’m sorry’ or anything like that. I just tried to make her day feel special and I remember introducing her to all the players and bring her down and you just try to make her feel as comfortable as you possibly can.”

Toward the end of a nearly 30-minute ceremony, Saracini and husband, Sean McGuire — he wore a Mets jersey — threw to Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger. McGuire also lost his father on 9/11; the couple met at a camp for kids whose parents died in the attacks, and they married in 2017.

As Saracini and McGuire made their tosses, Jeter along with former teammates Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Paul O’Neill, Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius, and their manager, Joe Torre, stood behind them.

During the ceremony, highlights of the Yankees’ 2001 postseason run were shown, including Jeter’s walk-off homer in Game 4 of the World Series that earned him the nickname “Mr. November.” The Yankees fell short in their bid for a fourth straight title when Luis Gonzalez singled off Rivera to give the Diamondbacks their only championship.

Acclaimed tenor James Valenti sung “The Star-Spangled Banner” while a massive American flag was unfurled in center field.

In the weeks before the ceremony, various members of the Yankees visited three fire stations in Manhattan. Earlier this week, several Yankees — including manager Aaron Boone — visited the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center site.

Friday marked the second time the Mets and Yankees played on Sept. 11. The Yankees beat the Mets 8-7 at Citi Field on the 20th anniversary in 2021.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

New York Yankees fans share a message during a 9/11 ceremony before baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Former New York Yankee Derek Jeter shakes hands with Aaron Judge before baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

American flags stand at half staff during a 9/11 ceremony before baseball game between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Former New York Yankee Derek Jeter acknowledges fans during a 9/11 ceremony before a baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Derek Jeter hugs Brielle Saracini before she throws out the ceremonial first pitch with husband Sean McGuire before a baseball game between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)