Senator John Cornyn of Texas appears to still be nursing a grudge after losing the Texas Republican Senate primary earlier this week to Attorney General Ken Paxton. The defeat came in part due to President Donald Trump's endorsement of Paxton. On Friday, Cornyn took to social media with a cryptic post that many interpreted as a thinly veiled reference to Trump.
The Cryptic Post
Cornyn shared a fable about a scorpion and a frog, which closely mirrors a story Trump often quotes at rallies: "The Snake," a 1969 hit by Al Wilson. In Trump's favorite version, a woman is bitten by a snake she saved, and the snake tells her, "You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in." Cornyn's version substituted a scorpion and a frog, but the moral was essentially the same. He called it "an old, but apt fable" and credited Wikipedia.
The fable goes: A scorpion wants to cross a river but cannot swim, so it asks a frog to carry it. The frog hesitates, fearing the scorpion might sting it, but the scorpion argues that stinging would cause both to drown. The frog agrees, but mid-journey, the scorpion stings the frog. As they both sink, the frog asks why, and the scorpion replies, "It is my nature."
Social Media Reactions
Many on social media quickly assumed Cornyn was referring to Trump's endorsement of Paxton, despite — or perhaps because of — Paxton's long history of corruption allegations. Responses ranged from direct accusations to sarcastic commentary.
- Stephen Richer asked, "So President Trump is the scorpion and you're the frog?"
- Connor O'Brien commented, "Definitely not a metaphor."
- Aaron Fritschner wrote, "You should have voted to convict the scorpion in its impeachment trial, Senator Frog."
- Ted Lieu questioned, "Why not choose to be the elephant that has historically represented the GOP? Elephants are not scared of poisonous scorpions."
Some wondered why Cornyn was being so cryptic. Edward Luce asked, "Can you not bring yourself to mention his name?" Rick Wilson added, "I do get it, but this is Twitter and you’re allowed to actually shitpost those bad people by name."
Leigh Ann Caldwell of Puck reported that Cornyn's post reflected what other Republican politicians are saying in private: "They’re perplexed, angry, and, in some cases, resigned to the conclusion that Trump cares more about himself than the midterms."
Others called out Cornyn for getting involved with Trump in the first place. Adam Kinzinger said, "This is actually what Trump did to you." Don Beyer noted, "Nearly every Republican knows Trump is a scorpion... and nearly all still choose to serve him anyway."
Garry Kasparov offered a literary perspective: "A Persian fable, adapted and popularized by Russian writers, then by Orson Welles in Mr. Arkadin. But we are humans, not scorpions, Senator, and we are responsible for our actions."
Bill Kristol suggested Cornyn should support Talarico if he believes what he said about Paxton and Trump.
Some questioned the timing. Kevin Baron wrote, "Don’t you love when politicians preach truth as soon as they realize their careers are over?" Deva Hazarika added, "Hilarious seeing these spineless clowns get all high and mighty with their moralizing once they get kicked out."
Will Saletan of the Bulwark told Cornyn he should have learned the lesson as a child, not at age 74. "The reason they wrote these fables is so you’d learn them as a child, not when you’re 74," he responded.
