September 16, 2025 • 34 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
It's that time, time, time, time, luck and load. The
Michael Verie Show is on the air.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
A lot of musical chairs going on. When one officeholder
seeks another office in Paxton running in the Senate race
against John Cornyn, that opens up the Texas AG's seat,
a position of great power and also a position that
(00:57):
has launched a lot of other careers. Greg Abbott, of course,
was the attorney general before he was governor. That race
has attracted a lot of attention, and it's going to
be a spirited campaign. You've got State Senator Joan Huffman
from the Houston area, former judge. You've got Mays Middleton,
(01:19):
a state senator who has said he's putting ten million
of his own money and will put ten more if
it's needed. So you got to take that campaign seriously,
just because that kind of money, if spent early enough,
can build you some name idea. You've got Chip Roy.
Congressman Ted Cruz came out and endorsed him. He has
(01:42):
been on Donald Trump's hit list for some things. He
said in January of twenty twenty one, as Trump was
headed out the door. A lot of Republicans kicked Trump
when he was down and chip Roy was certainly one
of those but ted Cruz coming out and endorsing him
certainly helps him. And you have Aaron Wrights. Aaron Wrights, Well,
(02:04):
you know what, let's let him tell you. Aaron Wrights
is our guest. Welcome to the program.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Eron, Hey, Michael, happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Why don't you take two minutes, three minutes and first
just talk about your career and how you ended up here.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Yeah, well, I appreciate it. Look, this is going to
be a spirited campaign. I love the composition of the field.
I love how this race is unfolded over the past
few months. And I guess we'll start. You know, look,
when I most recently came from the Trump administration, having
served as a presidentially appointed Senate confirmed head of the
(02:39):
Office of Legal Policy at the Justice Department under Attorney
General Bondi, And when the President nominated me back in December,
he put out a statement saying that Aaron Rights is
a true MAGA attorney and a warrior for the Constitution.
And the reason why he described me as a true
Maga attorney and a warrior the Constitution is because he knows,
(03:03):
just like the voters in Texas know that We need
senior executive attorneys covered in battle scars who know how
to fight in the lawfair environment in which we find ourselves.
He needs, just like the voters in Texas need a
lawyer who has litigated, investigated, sued, defended, and appealed on
(03:25):
all of the major issues. That's going to restore integrity, transparency,
and confidence into what has long been a broken and
corrupted justice system. Now what is that background that he
looked at, Well, it goes all the way back to
my time. After having graduated college. I'm a proud aggie,
went to Texas and I helpe Your listeners. Won't hold
(03:46):
that against me, but I know you got some good
aggies that listen in. After my time at A and M,
I was an officer in the Marine Corps, went to Afghanistan,
deployed to the Northern Helman Province. Was on an embedded
training team there in Helmand, And after my five years
on active, went to the University of Texas Law School,
President of the Federal Society, editor in chief of the
Texas Review of Law and Politics, clerked on the Texas
(04:08):
Supreme Court for now Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock spent several
years in private practice, and then in twenty twenty, I
joined Paxson as his deputy Attorney General for legal strategy,
and as Paxson always points out in anything really publicly
that he says about me, is I was his offensive
coordinator for the Biden years. He was our head coach.
I was the offensive coordinator, leading all of the major
(04:30):
fights on behalf of the state of Texas against Biden,
but not just Biden, also big tech, big pharma, school districts,
election integrity inside the state. You name the issue, and
I've led on it. I was then Ted Cruz's chief
of staff before being elevated to the Justice Department. And
when I left the Justice Department, you can find this
is all easily available online. Your listeners can look it up.
(04:50):
It's easy, or I can share it is. When I
left the DOJ, it was very clear. I've got at
least a dozen positive statements of encouragement for my former
colleg leagues and bosses in the West Wing and a DOJ,
all of whom understand that the stakes of this attorney
general race are not merely at the local or state level,
(05:11):
but that the State of Texas Attorney General, who presides
over the largest red state law firm in the country,
has significant national impact, and the question for voters is
is the next Attorney General going to be able to effectively, zealously, energetically,
and effectively advance the America first law and order agenda
here in the lone Star state. And there's only one
(05:33):
person in this race, only one with the kind of
record necessary to give voters a confidence that I'm the
guy to be able to keep his foot on the
gas to continue on the fights that Attorney General Paxson
has started. And frankly, he's at a ten. I'm going
to do my best to turn it up to eleven.
And so that's why I'm running. The stakes are critical
regardless of what happens with any of these candidate's futures.
(05:55):
You mentioned, it's a launching pad. I can't wait to
be the Attorney General to advance law and order and
justice here in Texas. That's why I'm running, and that's
why I want to earn voter support.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Aaron, when I was running for office or city council,
I had no trouble, but running for mayor, I had
a great frustration that money guys would say, Hey, we
think you'd make the best mayor in the field, but
we don't think you can get there. And my argument
was always I could get there if y'all would give
money and help me get there. But you've decided I
(06:26):
can't win, which means you've handed the race over to
other people to determine who the winner would be. I
don't like them to focus exclusively on who has a lead,
or more money or things like that, but I do
want to take a moment of that. How do you
get there? You've got candidates that are going to have
more money, you have candidates that have more name id.
(06:46):
How do you get there?
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Yeah, look, I think I like your anecdote. I've heard
that before. But I'll just respectfully, Michael, disagree with a
couple of your premises. There there's only one in this
race who clearly has significantly more money than anybody, and
it's May's Middleweight. And it's not even his money, it's
it's his inherited money. And so I look, I'm all
for I'm all for family legacies, but you know money
(07:11):
is only going to get so far.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
But you know what you did, I'll buy what I did.
You really just say, Maze Middleweight, tell.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
You absolutely no, it's pronounced May's middleweight. Actually, and if
you don't prefer to use the last name, it's just
May's with an exclamation point like Jeb in twenty sixteen.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Let me tell you something. I can't use the P
word like I want to. So if there's one thing
I can't stand, it's a woos, So I will use woos.
But the fact that you're going to come out swinging
like this, I you know, I I yes, I'm I'm
all in. I'm here for this. This this is let
me tell you, and I would say this to any
(07:50):
of the candids. If you're going to be the attorney general,
and this is what makes Paxson who he is, you
better be ready to bloody some noses. So all right,
go ahead with your a mazed middleweight.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
All right, May's Middlewaite has never been in a fight
in his life. He's not had spent any time in
a law in a law fair environment. I understand that
he's backed some good bills, but again, remember this isn't
a legislative job. The Texas Constitution under Article four, section
twenty two. You know this, Michael, as a as an
esteem lawyer yourself says that the Attorney General shall represent
(08:22):
the state of Texas in all courts. And please, this
is a legal executive branch law enforcement job.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Hold it is.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
We have all your formalware needs, from morning suits to
coordinating accessories.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Aaron Wrights is running to replace John Cornyan as the
Attorney General of Texas. Cornyn, of course running against Sorry
running to replace Ken Paxton as attorney General. Paxton running
against John Cornyan. And it looks like today Wesley Hunt
(08:59):
will get in to that three way now three way
primary for the US Senate. The attorney general's seat in
the state of Texas is incredibly important. Aaron Wrights is
a candidate in that race, a candidate who, as of
last week I believe was endorsed by Ken Paxton himself. Aaron,
I had to cut you off because we went to break,
(09:21):
but you were kind of setting the field of what
people could expect. Obviously, Chip Roy, the President Trump doesn't
seem to like him, one bit ted Cruz really likes him.
He does start with some name id and people are
going to be looking at that part of the race.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
What would you say, Yeah, look, I think where we
kind of left. It is just I was, you know,
there are two things. There's the name id and then
there's the money piece. And so you know, on the
one hand, with the money piece, there's only one person
in the race who inherited a boatload of family oil
and gas money, and it's May's middleweight. He'll always have
(09:58):
more money than everyone else in the race. But remember
when I launched at mid June, and I only had
two weeks to raise money. In the second quarter. In
two weeks as a non incumbent, non office holder, first
time statewide, no gavel, no title, no nothing, from two
hundred and fifty individual donors, I raised two point one
five million dollars in two weeks and we're only climbing
(10:19):
from there. And that's not just record breaking, it's record setting.
That kind of fundraising momentum has literally never been done
in modern Texas politics. And the reason for that is
people are actually fired up about this race. People are
not fired up about May's middleweight. They're not fired up
about Joan Huffman. And there's a fringy never Trumper, anti Maga,
(10:41):
anti Paxxton wing of the party that's fired up about
Chip Roy. But the base of our party is Maga
America First, pro Trump pro Paxson, and they are deeply,
deeply anti chip Roy. And so, you know, look, my
money is extremely competitive. I do not agree that that
I'm starting from some sort of money deficit. We're raising
an unbelievable amount of money, and sure Mays will continue
(11:03):
to spend more money, but we've seen elected officials in
this state spend, you know, just dump exorbitant amounts of money.
And it's a factor, but it's not the only thing.
You got to have more than just money. And sadly,
May's middleweight doesn't really have anything other than his inherited wealth. Joan.
We don't know what's going on with Joan. I think
someone ought to call, you know, do a wellness check
(11:24):
on her. I don't know if she's campaigning. I really
don't know what she's doing. But on the name ID,
the only thing that I would the only point that
I would, you know, maybe totally agree with you on,
is yeah, chip Roy is starting with higher name ID
than everybody. But if you look at my polling, or
really any any public polling that's been done on this question,
it's overwhelmingly negative. Now, look, we I'm taking I'm in
(11:46):
Houston right now. I know you're based in Houston. It
is true that in Houston and the Gulf Coast that
May's and Jones name idea is higher than mine, but
it's not statewide, and the polling reflects me. Joan and
May's are about equal right now in September of twenty
twenty five on name, I d state senators often have
(12:09):
a tendency to overestimate how well known they are statewide.
And so look, I've spent the past you know, decade
traveling the state, first with Paxson and then with Cruz,
building a grassroots network in every corner of the state,
which gives me a tremendous infrastructure advantage over the two
state senators who may be better known in this particular region,
(12:32):
but they're not known anywhere else in the state. So
here's what's happening, Michael in this race. This race is
a rights versus roy battle. Joan and Mays are nice people.
I think, you know, have serviceable legislative records. I might
prefer one over the other. I might give more props
to one over the other. But again, as I said,
(12:52):
I think before we cut to the break, this isn't
a legislative job. I think they're nice people, they're applying
for the wrong job. Nor Joan and Ship included are.
They are manifestly unqualified for this position, grossly so. And
Texans really haven't had to think about the qualifications for
office for the AG in over a decade. Article four,
(13:14):
Section twenty two the Texas Constitution says the Attorney General
shall represent the State of Texas in all courts and
please it is a legal executive branch, law enforcement job.
And there is only one person in this race with
relevant and recent experience engaging in the kind of lawfare combat, litigating, investigating, suing, defending,
(13:35):
and appealing on all the major issues that your listeners
and Republican primary voters more generally care about. And that's
what sets my record apart from these people. But the
reason why it's a rights versus roy battle is because
neither Mas nor Joan are really getting any traction. I
think that people realize there's no energy. It's kind of
just spiraling and not getting any forward momentum. We don't
(13:55):
see any campaigning, we don't see a lot of radio,
we see no TV media, we see no podcasts. We
don't know what they're doing. I think it's because they're
trying to punch above their weight, but Roy comes in
with the advantage of high name id and look, he's
been a fighter, but like he's kind of like I
analogize Roy to this. Roy is like is like an
attack dog but with rabies right. In other words, he's
(14:19):
lost his frickin' mind. He goes to war against everybody.
He's been fired from virtually every single job he's ever held,
including the United States Congress, in which he's basically persona
non grata among both his peers and the Trump administration.
It wasn't as though the Trump administration just had quibbles
with him back in January of twenty twenty one. President
(14:40):
Trump is recently as December of twenty twenty four, was
saying that Chip Roy was a do nothing egomaniac who
should be primaried and so Maga world, Trump World, America,
first World, Packson World. They know who Chip Roy is.
They know who Chip Sooy is or Flip Roy, whatever
you want to call him. This is a guy who
is deeply anti Maga and anti Trump, and I think
(15:02):
that that will reflect in the polls. But Chip writes
versus Roy reflects a It is a proxy battle over
the broader war of the future, of the heart and
soul of our party. Is it America First? Is it maga?
Does President Trump represent a lasting, durable realignment in our
(15:22):
party back to America First principles? That's what I represent.
That's the flag that I carry. Or does it go
back to sort of GOP Inc. Business as usual bumper
sticker talking points from the eighties that no longer apply
to the fights that we're in today. Well, that's Chip
Roy And I think voters know that. I think the
president knows this. I think this administration knows it, and
(15:45):
I think it's going to reflect in the polls. Chip's
got enough high, has the high name ID, but it's
overwhelmingly negative. Michael. And so this is why I say
I love the field, because I've got all the momentum
in the world. I've got incredible endorsements that are coming out.
It was Ken Paxton a couple of weeks ago who
said he didn't mince words in his endorsement statement. By
(16:06):
the way, he didn't say, oh, there's many good people
in the field, and you know, on the margins, I
stand with Aaron. But at the end of the day,
Texans will be well served by any of the champions
that are running. No, he made it very clear. He
said explicitly, Aaron Rights is the only qualified candidate in
this race, and I think voters will get to.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Know that Aaron Wright's is our guest. He's running for
attorney general Texans, who replaced Ken Paxton, who has endorsed him.
More with him coming up.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
You are listening to the Michael Berry Show.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
Aaron Wright is a candidate for attorney general to replace
Ken Paxton, who of course is running against John Cornyn.
Paxton has endorsed Aaron Wrights. Ted Cruz has endorsed Chip Roy.
There are also May's Middleton and Joan Hoffman in the race.
But I would actually agree at this point with Aaron Rights,
(17:02):
and I don't see that changing that this is a
two person race between Rights and Roy. I think Joan
Huffman has a solid history. Obviously she won that state
Senate race when most people didn't think she could. And
Middleton has money and that gets people's attention. But a
(17:23):
lot of folks that are impressed with having some money
to start don't understand the grassroots Republican primaries. This is
a very very different type of race than you're used
to come November, and you can't simply PLoP down a
lot of money. Grassroots people are very opinionated, and there
will be lots of coffees and teas in living rooms,
(17:45):
and it will be mostly women, and they will determine
who wins and loses this race, and they don't. I
look back to David Deuhurst and having busted my butt
for Ted Cruz in twenty twelve and having to overcome
dohurst money is he was running an aerial campaign and
we were running a grassroots campaign, and the grassroots will
always win. Aaron, let's talk about your connection to the
(18:08):
grassroots and how you win this race.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
Yeah. Look, I think that what you and I both
know this that the grassroots in Texas is energetically aligned
with President Donald Trump. They are maga, they are America first,
and they are fired up about that. And this is
exactly why my message is resonating with the grassroots in
every corner of this state. It's because I'm the only
(18:35):
guy in the race who's been fully vetted, tested, and
hand selected by the President himself to have served in
a very senior executive legal lawyer role. Most recently in
the Justice Department, and not just that, he specifically called
me a true maga attorney and a warrior for the Constitution,
(18:57):
and then went on to praise specifically the work that
I did when I was Attorney General Ken Paxson's deputy,
litigating against the Biden administration and the forces of the
forces of the left as they manifest themselves in big tech,
big pharma, K through twelve education, higher education, election integrity,
and so forth. And so the grassroots know they have
(19:19):
an intuitive sense that even though the grassroots is excited
about Paxton moving on to the United States Senate to
represent the lone star state better in Washington, they had
some concerns. This is what I've felt this for many,
many months. They have concerns about, well, gosh, Ken, we're
excited for you to run for Senate, but who in
(19:41):
the world can competently take the keys to this high
horsepower vehicle handle its incredible capabilities without driving it into
the ditch while keeping his foot on the gas. And
so as voters are looking at the field, they know
that Mays Middleton is a nice guy, but he certainly
(20:03):
can't do it. He's not a fighter, he's not a
Warrior's never been punched in the mouth before, He's never
been engaged in legal combat or lawfair. They know that
until recently, nobody knew that he was even a lawyer.
Joan Huffman, they know that she's just kind of a
swamp creature who wields her gavel to advance her own
personal interests as Senate Finance chairman, has a very liberal
(20:23):
voting record, and really hasn't been a lawyer in twenty years.
I mean, look, I'll give Joanes some credit. At least
she was a lawyer several decades ago. Mays, on the
other hand, has never practiced. And they look at Roy
and they find his never trump ism odious, They find
it offensive, they find it disqualifying for the moment that
we're in right now. And so the grassroots want a
(20:46):
MAGA fighter. They want what President Trump said about me,
which is a true MAGA attorney and a warrior for
the Constitution, with somebody who's got a record litigating, investigating, suing, defending,
and appealing on all the major issues that Texans care
about in a law fair, legal combat environment. My opponents
are all legislators. They're going to say, well, I've got
(21:07):
this bill and that bill, and I've sponsored this thing,
and I voted for this and against that, and look
at my record, I say, great, are you guys applying
for a legislative position or are you applying for the
state's top legal position, Because if you're applying for the
state's top legal position, I'm sorry. Those records are some indication,
but they're not qualifying for the position. In fact, had
(21:30):
any of my opponents applied for even an entry level
legal position at the United States Justice Department under Trump
or the Office of the Attorney General of Texas under Packson,
they wouldn't have even gotten a screener interview, either because
they don't have the ideological or philosophical commitments that are
needed for the time in which we're in right now,
or they don't have the relevant experience to do even
(21:51):
low level or middle management. And yet my opponents presume
to want to preside over the largest red state law
firm in the country. I don't think so. You don't
get to become the head coach of the most impressive
football team in the country if you've never even played
freshman B team ball. It's just not possible. And the
voters are going to reject it. Now. Look, I've spent
(22:13):
the past several years with Paxton in the twenty twenty
two statewide cycle and crews in the twenty four cycle,
traveling to every single corner of the state. I've built
a statewide infrastructure in every major region from the Panhandle
down to the Valley West Texas to deep East Texas,
all the way to Orange and where you're from Michael
(22:35):
to the major metropolitan areas. I've got grassroots coverage in
every corner of the state, and people are fired up.
You feel it intuitively. You look at the momentum, you
look at the media presence, you look at the social
media follow you look at the fundraising, and voters know,
the grassroots know the AG. We cannot turn the keys
(22:55):
over the AG's office over to somebody who needs training wheels.
And my three opponents don't have the slightest idea what
they are doing. It is all well and good. And
I know this as a Marine officer, somebody who went
to Afghanistan. It's all well and good to talk a
big game about. Oh I'm courageous, I'm going to be
(23:16):
a hero on the battlefield. I'm gonna do great things
I'm going to lead my men to victory. Uh huh.
Wait until you hear the bullets start to fly. Wait
until one of your buddies gets injured, Wait until you're
starting to get overrun, Wait until you have to confront
the enemy face on, and then all of a sudden,
that's when your character is tested. That's when your metal
(23:37):
is tested. And right now, out of a four way race,
there is only one candidate who has actually been in
legal combat doing the legal fights that matter most on
behalf of the state of Texas and to Texans, and
it's me my other three opponents. Regardless of what you
think about their legislative records, it doesn't matter. This isn't
(23:58):
a super legislative position. It's the state's top legal law
enforcement executive branch role. And voters know this. Our voters, Michael,
you know this. The grassroots are smart, They are discerning,
They ask the right questions, and they align themselves with
people that they fully trust in, and they know that
if I was good enough for President Trump, if I
(24:19):
was good enough for the President to say Aaron Rights
is a true MAGA attorney and a warrior for the Constitution,
then that's the guy that they're going to align with.
That's the one who they're going to vote for. That's
the one they're going to text their friends about. That's
the one that they're going to donate their hard earned
money to. And it's not my opponents. And I will
tell your listeners hearing my voice for the first time,
I will tell you this, the stakes are way way
(24:42):
too high to give this position to somebody who is
not absolutely ready and battle hardened for the fight that's
ahead of us. Do not take your chances with somebody
who's never done this before. Don't take your chances with
somebody who's just making a play declined to the next wrong,
or somebody who's just running because it increases their statewide
(25:03):
name ID and allows him to raise more money, or
who is failing upwards because their path has been blocked
at every turn. Allow it. Vote for somebody who's battle tester.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
Aaron Wrights is running for Texas Attorney General. Will continue
our conversation with him coming up. Aaron Wrights is our
guest spelled R E I t Z. He is running
(25:36):
to replace John damn It. He is running to replace
Ken Paston, who is running against John Cornyn in the
US Senate race, a race that saw a third entrant
today or will be seeing, and that is Wesley Hunt,
congressman from the thirty eighth Congressional district, which of course
will pop open his congressional seat and there will be
(25:59):
a race for that. So Hunt in against Cornyan and Paxton.
Paxton leaving the AG's race means that Aaron Wrights has
entered that race along with Chip Roy, Mays Middleton, and
Joan Hoffman. Aaron Wrights take a moment, if you would,
and I'm going to time you take two minutes to
(26:20):
explain to folks what the Attorney General's office actually does
and why it's so important.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
Yeah. Great question. So Article four, section twenty two of
the Texas Constitution says, quote, the Attorney General shall represent
the State of Texas in all courts and pleas. This
is a legal executive branch law enforcement job. The Attorney
General is the state of Texas when it comes to
(26:49):
legal fights. That means that on behalf of the state
of Texas, the Attorney General may go on offense as
a plaintiff. It means the Attorney General may be in
a defense position as a defendant when other entities come
after the state. And it also means that the Attorney
General can launch investigations consistent with state law to discern whether,
(27:13):
you know, pull at legal threads to discern whether or
not state law or federal law within the jurisdiction of
the State of Texas is being violated. The powers that
inhere in the attorney General, both constitutional and statutory, are vast.
I want your listeners to think of the Attorney General
as someone who presides over one of the most robust
(27:37):
legal armories that one can imagine. It is a legal armory.
The legislature stocks the armory full of weapons. Then the
Attorney General, however, must go into that armory and, depending
on the enemy of the day, select the appropriate weapon
to go after that enemy. So one day you may
have an enemy that requires a belt fed machine gun
(28:00):
with a tripod. Then another day it may just require
a booie knife to slip in under the ribs of
the enemy and take them out and walk away. Another day,
there may be an enemy that's so overwhelming the attorney
General needs superior air covering, can call and help from
the Trump administration. And then there are other days where
the enemy is coming and we need to bring out
defensive weapons. And so that's how I want folks to
(28:23):
think about the attorney general, who is ready to engage
in legal combat in a lawfair environment, who has handled
these weapons, who is battle tested, who has sustained scars
to competently and effectively and energetically fight the enemies of liberty,
the enemies of Texas, and the enemies of the Constitution.
And out of the four people in this race, there
(28:44):
is only one person who has that credible experience, and
it's me.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
Aaron Wrights, which is spelled Oreiitz is our guest. We're
talking about his bid to be the next turn in general.
When we talk about the nuts and bolts of the campaign.
Obviously Ken Paxton came out and endorsed you, Ted Cruz
endorsed Chip Roy. The expectation has been, with your experience
(29:14):
with President Trump, the expectation is that President Trump will
endorse you. How confident do you feel that he will
do that publicly?
Speaker 3 (29:25):
So I want to be very clear. When I left
the Trump administration, it was after two months plus a
very careful and thoughtful and deliberate due diligence with my
superiors and colleagues in the West Wing and at the
Justice Department, And only after receiving the full blessing of
everyone that helped to get me into the Justice Department
(29:47):
that I make the ultimate decision to jump into this race.
Why did I get that permission because the Trump administration
understands that this position the Texas Attorney General is not
just some back or state office for somebody who wants
to climb the rungs. It is mission essential nationally to
advance the America first in MAGA law and order agenda.
(30:09):
It's why when I announced, I got twenty different public
statements from the Attorney General of the United States, the
Deputy Attorney General, FBI Director Borders are and so on
and so forth. All this is publicly available out on
social media saying, look, Aaron is the guy for the job,
and he's going to make America safe again back in
his home state of Texas. Now, the question of the
(30:30):
complete and total endorsement is a separate conversation. We stand
ideally positioned to earn the President's in total, complete and
total endorsement. That is something that we are in constant
communication with this administration on. But it's early and the
President wants his people to show that they can jump
out of the nest and fly on their own. And
(30:51):
I think by any metric, whether it's fundraising or social
media or media appearances, ability on the stump and on
the trail, endorse, et cetera, et cetera. I think the
President Trump and his team know that they've got not
only somebody who's been fully vetted by them, somebody who's
already been declared by the President himself to be a
true MAGA attorney and a warrior for the Constitution, but
(31:14):
somebody who that the President can confidently endorse at the
right time, when it makes the most sense and when
it has the biggest impact. And so I think that
I stand ideally positioned to earn it. I want to
earn it. And what I would communicate to President Trump,
if you were listening to your show, is, Sir, you
will have no better ally, no better partner in advancing
(31:37):
your law and order agenda right here in the Lone
Star state in a way that has national impact. And
by the way, I think voters know this as well,
and it's why they are rallying to my flag and
they're not rallying to my opponent's flags.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Aaron writes, is our guest. His last name, since a
number of you have asked, is spelled RAI t Z.
A number of Trump officials endorsing you. The expectation that
I hear from the rumor mills into which I tap
suggests that Trump will endorse you at the appropriate time
to give maximum value to that. The Cruise endorsement for
(32:14):
Chip Roy came out really early, I think, with an
intention of trying to show there's going to be some
grassroots support everything that that was intended to do. Ken
Paxton coming out and saying, hey, he's the guy for
my job. I've done my job, well, you love me.
He'll do a good job. I think this and the
US Senate race are going to be the two marquee
(32:34):
races that are going to get all the attention over
the next few months. But I think it's safe to say,
and you've alluded to this, that this is going to
be an The one of the angles of this race
is going to be the sort of Cruise Roy wing
of what we're once never Trumper's against the Trump world
(32:55):
and their influence in an internal race in Texas with
you representing the Trump side, and I think we're going
to see a lot of that play out because you
take the Cornin institutional side and you take sort of
more not exactly Groy Berser to that extent, but the
(33:15):
never Trump wing over here. And I think that's going
to be chip Roy's folks and then the Trump world folks,
which obviously are already with you and he's expected to
be you. Is that a fair assessment.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
Yeah, I think that you've got the battle lines right.
I mean, look, chip Roy represents the chip Roy is
the guy who hates President Trump so much that he
went out of his way. He was the first elected
official in Congress to recruit Ron DeSantis to oppose President
Trump for the twenty four presidential cycle and then travel
(33:48):
around the country with the other loathsome never Trumper, Thomas Massey.
It was chip Roy, Thomas Massey and Ron de Santis
buddying up, traveling the country to oppose President Trump for months.
And how many counties did they win? Zero? That's because
chip Roy is on the wrong side of this fight.
(34:09):
The President knows it, his teams know it, his team
knows it, and the grassroots knows it. I'm very clear,
I'm with the President, I'm with Paxon, I'm the MAGA
Attorney general candidate in this race, and I think that
folks are going to come and rally around our flag
that is Aaron Wright's spelled r e
Speaker 2 (34:25):
A t z
It's that time, time, time, time, luck and load. The
Michael Verie Show is on the air.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
A lot of musical chairs going on. When one officeholder
seeks another office in Paxton running in the Senate race
against John Cornyn, that opens up the Texas AG's seat,
a position of great power and also a position that
(00:57):
has launched a lot of other careers. Greg Abbott, of course,
was the attorney general before he was governor. That race
has attracted a lot of attention, and it's going to
be a spirited campaign. You've got State Senator Joan Huffman
from the Houston area, former judge. You've got Mays Middleton,
(01:19):
a state senator who has said he's putting ten million
of his own money and will put ten more if
it's needed. So you got to take that campaign seriously,
just because that kind of money, if spent early enough,
can build you some name idea. You've got Chip Roy.
Congressman Ted Cruz came out and endorsed him. He has
(01:42):
been on Donald Trump's hit list for some things. He
said in January of twenty twenty one, as Trump was
headed out the door. A lot of Republicans kicked Trump
when he was down and chip Roy was certainly one
of those but ted Cruz coming out and endorsing him
certainly helps him. And you have Aaron Wrights. Aaron Wrights, Well,
(02:04):
you know what, let's let him tell you. Aaron Wrights
is our guest. Welcome to the program.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Eron, Hey, Michael, happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Why don't you take two minutes, three minutes and first
just talk about your career and how you ended up here.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Yeah, well, I appreciate it. Look, this is going to
be a spirited campaign. I love the composition of the field.
I love how this race is unfolded over the past
few months. And I guess we'll start. You know, look,
when I most recently came from the Trump administration, having
served as a presidentially appointed Senate confirmed head of the
(02:39):
Office of Legal Policy at the Justice Department under Attorney
General Bondi, And when the President nominated me back in December,
he put out a statement saying that Aaron Rights is
a true MAGA attorney and a warrior for the Constitution.
And the reason why he described me as a true
Maga attorney and a warrior the Constitution is because he knows,
(03:03):
just like the voters in Texas know that We need
senior executive attorneys covered in battle scars who know how
to fight in the lawfair environment in which we find ourselves.
He needs, just like the voters in Texas need a
lawyer who has litigated, investigated, sued, defended, and appealed on
(03:25):
all of the major issues. That's going to restore integrity, transparency,
and confidence into what has long been a broken and
corrupted justice system. Now what is that background that he
looked at, Well, it goes all the way back to
my time. After having graduated college. I'm a proud aggie,
went to Texas and I helpe Your listeners. Won't hold
(03:46):
that against me, but I know you got some good
aggies that listen in. After my time at A and M,
I was an officer in the Marine Corps, went to Afghanistan,
deployed to the Northern Helman Province. Was on an embedded
training team there in Helmand, And after my five years
on active, went to the University of Texas Law School,
President of the Federal Society, editor in chief of the
Texas Review of Law and Politics, clerked on the Texas
(04:08):
Supreme Court for now Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock spent several
years in private practice, and then in twenty twenty, I
joined Paxson as his deputy Attorney General for legal strategy,
and as Paxson always points out in anything really publicly
that he says about me, is I was his offensive
coordinator for the Biden years. He was our head coach.
I was the offensive coordinator, leading all of the major
(04:30):
fights on behalf of the state of Texas against Biden,
but not just Biden, also big tech, big pharma, school districts,
election integrity inside the state. You name the issue, and
I've led on it. I was then Ted Cruz's chief
of staff before being elevated to the Justice Department. And
when I left the Justice Department, you can find this
is all easily available online. Your listeners can look it up.
(04:50):
It's easy, or I can share it is. When I
left the DOJ, it was very clear. I've got at
least a dozen positive statements of encouragement for my former
colleg leagues and bosses in the West Wing and a DOJ,
all of whom understand that the stakes of this attorney
general race are not merely at the local or state level,
(05:11):
but that the State of Texas Attorney General, who presides
over the largest red state law firm in the country,
has significant national impact, and the question for voters is
is the next Attorney General going to be able to effectively, zealously, energetically,
and effectively advance the America first law and order agenda
here in the lone Star state. And there's only one
(05:33):
person in this race, only one with the kind of
record necessary to give voters a confidence that I'm the
guy to be able to keep his foot on the
gas to continue on the fights that Attorney General Paxson
has started. And frankly, he's at a ten. I'm going
to do my best to turn it up to eleven.
And so that's why I'm running. The stakes are critical
regardless of what happens with any of these candidate's futures.
(05:55):
You mentioned, it's a launching pad. I can't wait to
be the Attorney General to advance law and order and
justice here in Texas. That's why I'm running, and that's
why I want to earn voter support.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Aaron, when I was running for office or city council,
I had no trouble, but running for mayor, I had
a great frustration that money guys would say, Hey, we
think you'd make the best mayor in the field, but
we don't think you can get there. And my argument
was always I could get there if y'all would give
money and help me get there. But you've decided I
(06:26):
can't win, which means you've handed the race over to
other people to determine who the winner would be. I
don't like them to focus exclusively on who has a lead,
or more money or things like that, but I do
want to take a moment of that. How do you
get there? You've got candidates that are going to have
more money, you have candidates that have more name id.
(06:46):
How do you get there?
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Yeah, look, I think I like your anecdote. I've heard
that before. But I'll just respectfully, Michael, disagree with a
couple of your premises. There there's only one in this
race who clearly has significantly more money than anybody, and
it's May's Middleweight. And it's not even his money, it's
it's his inherited money. And so I look, I'm all
for I'm all for family legacies, but you know money
(07:11):
is only going to get so far.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
But you know what you did, I'll buy what I did.
You really just say, Maze Middleweight, tell.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
You absolutely no, it's pronounced May's middleweight. Actually, and if
you don't prefer to use the last name, it's just
May's with an exclamation point like Jeb in twenty sixteen.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Let me tell you something. I can't use the P
word like I want to. So if there's one thing
I can't stand, it's a woos, So I will use woos.
But the fact that you're going to come out swinging
like this, I you know, I I yes, I'm I'm
all in. I'm here for this. This this is let
me tell you, and I would say this to any
(07:50):
of the candids. If you're going to be the attorney general,
and this is what makes Paxson who he is, you
better be ready to bloody some noses. So all right,
go ahead with your a mazed middleweight.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
All right, May's Middlewaite has never been in a fight
in his life. He's not had spent any time in
a law in a law fair environment. I understand that
he's backed some good bills, but again, remember this isn't
a legislative job. The Texas Constitution under Article four, section
twenty two. You know this, Michael, as a as an
esteem lawyer yourself says that the Attorney General shall represent
(08:22):
the state of Texas in all courts. And please, this
is a legal executive branch law enforcement job.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Hold it is.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
We have all your formalware needs, from morning suits to
coordinating accessories.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Aaron Wrights is running to replace John Cornyan as the
Attorney General of Texas. Cornyn, of course running against Sorry
running to replace Ken Paxton as attorney General. Paxton running
against John Cornyan. And it looks like today Wesley Hunt
(08:59):
will get in to that three way now three way
primary for the US Senate. The attorney general's seat in
the state of Texas is incredibly important. Aaron Wrights is
a candidate in that race, a candidate who, as of
last week I believe was endorsed by Ken Paxton himself. Aaron,
I had to cut you off because we went to break,
(09:21):
but you were kind of setting the field of what
people could expect. Obviously, Chip Roy, the President Trump doesn't
seem to like him, one bit ted Cruz really likes him.
He does start with some name id and people are
going to be looking at that part of the race.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
What would you say, Yeah, look, I think where we
kind of left. It is just I was, you know,
there are two things. There's the name id and then
there's the money piece. And so you know, on the
one hand, with the money piece, there's only one person
in the race who inherited a boatload of family oil
and gas money, and it's May's middleweight. He'll always have
(09:58):
more money than everyone else in the race. But remember
when I launched at mid June, and I only had
two weeks to raise money. In the second quarter. In
two weeks as a non incumbent, non office holder, first
time statewide, no gavel, no title, no nothing, from two
hundred and fifty individual donors, I raised two point one
five million dollars in two weeks and we're only climbing
(10:19):
from there. And that's not just record breaking, it's record setting.
That kind of fundraising momentum has literally never been done
in modern Texas politics. And the reason for that is
people are actually fired up about this race. People are
not fired up about May's middleweight. They're not fired up
about Joan Huffman. And there's a fringy never Trumper, anti Maga,
(10:41):
anti Paxxton wing of the party that's fired up about
Chip Roy. But the base of our party is Maga
America First, pro Trump pro Paxson, and they are deeply,
deeply anti chip Roy. And so, you know, look, my
money is extremely competitive. I do not agree that that
I'm starting from some sort of money deficit. We're raising
an unbelievable amount of money, and sure Mays will continue
(11:03):
to spend more money, but we've seen elected officials in
this state spend, you know, just dump exorbitant amounts of money.
And it's a factor, but it's not the only thing.
You got to have more than just money. And sadly,
May's middleweight doesn't really have anything other than his inherited wealth. Joan.
We don't know what's going on with Joan. I think
someone ought to call, you know, do a wellness check
(11:24):
on her. I don't know if she's campaigning. I really
don't know what she's doing. But on the name ID,
the only thing that I would the only point that
I would, you know, maybe totally agree with you on,
is yeah, chip Roy is starting with higher name ID
than everybody. But if you look at my polling, or
really any any public polling that's been done on this question,
it's overwhelmingly negative. Now, look, we I'm taking I'm in
(11:46):
Houston right now. I know you're based in Houston. It
is true that in Houston and the Gulf Coast that
May's and Jones name idea is higher than mine, but
it's not statewide, and the polling reflects me. Joan and
May's are about equal right now in September of twenty
twenty five on name, I d state senators often have
(12:09):
a tendency to overestimate how well known they are statewide.
And so look, I've spent the past you know, decade
traveling the state, first with Paxson and then with Cruz,
building a grassroots network in every corner of the state,
which gives me a tremendous infrastructure advantage over the two
state senators who may be better known in this particular region,
(12:32):
but they're not known anywhere else in the state. So
here's what's happening, Michael in this race. This race is
a rights versus roy battle. Joan and Mays are nice people.
I think, you know, have serviceable legislative records. I might
prefer one over the other. I might give more props
to one over the other. But again, as I said,
(12:52):
I think before we cut to the break, this isn't
a legislative job. I think they're nice people, they're applying
for the wrong job. Nor Joan and Ship included are.
They are manifestly unqualified for this position, grossly so. And
Texans really haven't had to think about the qualifications for
office for the AG in over a decade. Article four,
(13:14):
Section twenty two the Texas Constitution says the Attorney General
shall represent the State of Texas in all courts and
please it is a legal executive branch, law enforcement job.
And there is only one person in this race with
relevant and recent experience engaging in the kind of lawfare combat, litigating, investigating, suing, defending,
(13:35):
and appealing on all the major issues that your listeners
and Republican primary voters more generally care about. And that's
what sets my record apart from these people. But the
reason why it's a rights versus roy battle is because
neither Mas nor Joan are really getting any traction. I
think that people realize there's no energy. It's kind of
just spiraling and not getting any forward momentum. We don't
(13:55):
see any campaigning, we don't see a lot of radio,
we see no TV media, we see no podcasts. We
don't know what they're doing. I think it's because they're
trying to punch above their weight, but Roy comes in
with the advantage of high name id and look, he's
been a fighter, but like he's kind of like I
analogize Roy to this. Roy is like is like an
attack dog but with rabies right. In other words, he's
(14:19):
lost his frickin' mind. He goes to war against everybody.
He's been fired from virtually every single job he's ever held,
including the United States Congress, in which he's basically persona
non grata among both his peers and the Trump administration.
It wasn't as though the Trump administration just had quibbles
with him back in January of twenty twenty one. President
(14:40):
Trump is recently as December of twenty twenty four, was
saying that Chip Roy was a do nothing egomaniac who
should be primaried and so Maga world, Trump World, America,
first World, Packson World. They know who Chip Roy is.
They know who Chip Sooy is or Flip Roy, whatever
you want to call him. This is a guy who
is deeply anti Maga and anti Trump, and I think
(15:02):
that that will reflect in the polls. But Chip writes
versus Roy reflects a It is a proxy battle over
the broader war of the future, of the heart and
soul of our party. Is it America First? Is it maga?
Does President Trump represent a lasting, durable realignment in our
(15:22):
party back to America First principles? That's what I represent.
That's the flag that I carry. Or does it go
back to sort of GOP Inc. Business as usual bumper
sticker talking points from the eighties that no longer apply
to the fights that we're in today. Well, that's Chip
Roy And I think voters know that. I think the
president knows this. I think this administration knows it, and
(15:45):
I think it's going to reflect in the polls. Chip's
got enough high, has the high name ID, but it's
overwhelmingly negative. Michael. And so this is why I say
I love the field, because I've got all the momentum
in the world. I've got incredible endorsements that are coming out.
It was Ken Paxton a couple of weeks ago who
said he didn't mince words in his endorsement statement. By
(16:06):
the way, he didn't say, oh, there's many good people
in the field, and you know, on the margins, I
stand with Aaron. But at the end of the day,
Texans will be well served by any of the champions
that are running. No, he made it very clear. He
said explicitly, Aaron Rights is the only qualified candidate in
this race, and I think voters will get to.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Know that Aaron Wright's is our guest. He's running for
attorney general Texans, who replaced Ken Paxton, who has endorsed him.
More with him coming up.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
You are listening to the Michael Berry Show.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
Aaron Wright is a candidate for attorney general to replace
Ken Paxton, who of course is running against John Cornyn.
Paxton has endorsed Aaron Wrights. Ted Cruz has endorsed Chip Roy.
There are also May's Middleton and Joan Hoffman in the race.
But I would actually agree at this point with Aaron Rights,
(17:02):
and I don't see that changing that this is a
two person race between Rights and Roy. I think Joan
Huffman has a solid history. Obviously she won that state
Senate race when most people didn't think she could. And
Middleton has money and that gets people's attention. But a
(17:23):
lot of folks that are impressed with having some money
to start don't understand the grassroots Republican primaries. This is
a very very different type of race than you're used
to come November, and you can't simply PLoP down a
lot of money. Grassroots people are very opinionated, and there
will be lots of coffees and teas in living rooms,
(17:45):
and it will be mostly women, and they will determine
who wins and loses this race, and they don't. I
look back to David Deuhurst and having busted my butt
for Ted Cruz in twenty twelve and having to overcome
dohurst money is he was running an aerial campaign and
we were running a grassroots campaign, and the grassroots will
always win. Aaron, let's talk about your connection to the
(18:08):
grassroots and how you win this race.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
Yeah. Look, I think that what you and I both
know this that the grassroots in Texas is energetically aligned
with President Donald Trump. They are maga, they are America first,
and they are fired up about that. And this is
exactly why my message is resonating with the grassroots in
every corner of this state. It's because I'm the only
(18:35):
guy in the race who's been fully vetted, tested, and
hand selected by the President himself to have served in
a very senior executive legal lawyer role. Most recently in
the Justice Department, and not just that, he specifically called
me a true maga attorney and a warrior for the Constitution,
(18:57):
and then went on to praise specifically the work that
I did when I was Attorney General Ken Paxson's deputy,
litigating against the Biden administration and the forces of the
forces of the left as they manifest themselves in big tech,
big pharma, K through twelve education, higher education, election integrity,
and so forth. And so the grassroots know they have
(19:19):
an intuitive sense that even though the grassroots is excited
about Paxton moving on to the United States Senate to
represent the lone star state better in Washington, they had
some concerns. This is what I've felt this for many,
many months. They have concerns about, well, gosh, Ken, we're
excited for you to run for Senate, but who in
(19:41):
the world can competently take the keys to this high
horsepower vehicle handle its incredible capabilities without driving it into
the ditch while keeping his foot on the gas. And
so as voters are looking at the field, they know
that Mays Middleton is a nice guy, but he certainly
(20:03):
can't do it. He's not a fighter, he's not a
Warrior's never been punched in the mouth before, He's never
been engaged in legal combat or lawfair. They know that
until recently, nobody knew that he was even a lawyer.
Joan Huffman, they know that she's just kind of a
swamp creature who wields her gavel to advance her own
personal interests as Senate Finance chairman, has a very liberal
(20:23):
voting record, and really hasn't been a lawyer in twenty years.
I mean, look, I'll give Joanes some credit. At least
she was a lawyer several decades ago. Mays, on the
other hand, has never practiced. And they look at Roy
and they find his never trump ism odious, They find
it offensive, they find it disqualifying for the moment that
we're in right now. And so the grassroots want a
(20:46):
MAGA fighter. They want what President Trump said about me,
which is a true MAGA attorney and a warrior for
the Constitution, with somebody who's got a record litigating, investigating, suing, defending,
and appealing on all the major issues that Texans care
about in a law fair, legal combat environment. My opponents
are all legislators. They're going to say, well, I've got
(21:07):
this bill and that bill, and I've sponsored this thing,
and I voted for this and against that, and look
at my record, I say, great, are you guys applying
for a legislative position or are you applying for the
state's top legal position, Because if you're applying for the
state's top legal position, I'm sorry. Those records are some indication,
but they're not qualifying for the position. In fact, had
(21:30):
any of my opponents applied for even an entry level
legal position at the United States Justice Department under Trump
or the Office of the Attorney General of Texas under Packson,
they wouldn't have even gotten a screener interview, either because
they don't have the ideological or philosophical commitments that are
needed for the time in which we're in right now,
or they don't have the relevant experience to do even
(21:51):
low level or middle management. And yet my opponents presume
to want to preside over the largest red state law
firm in the country. I don't think so. You don't
get to become the head coach of the most impressive
football team in the country if you've never even played
freshman B team ball. It's just not possible. And the
voters are going to reject it. Now. Look, I've spent
(22:13):
the past several years with Paxton in the twenty twenty
two statewide cycle and crews in the twenty four cycle,
traveling to every single corner of the state. I've built
a statewide infrastructure in every major region from the Panhandle
down to the Valley West Texas to deep East Texas,
all the way to Orange and where you're from Michael
(22:35):
to the major metropolitan areas. I've got grassroots coverage in
every corner of the state, and people are fired up.
You feel it intuitively. You look at the momentum, you
look at the media presence, you look at the social
media follow you look at the fundraising, and voters know,
the grassroots know the AG. We cannot turn the keys
(22:55):
over the AG's office over to somebody who needs training wheels.
And my three opponents don't have the slightest idea what
they are doing. It is all well and good. And
I know this as a Marine officer, somebody who went
to Afghanistan. It's all well and good to talk a
big game about. Oh I'm courageous, I'm going to be
(23:16):
a hero on the battlefield. I'm gonna do great things
I'm going to lead my men to victory. Uh huh.
Wait until you hear the bullets start to fly. Wait
until one of your buddies gets injured, Wait until you're
starting to get overrun, Wait until you have to confront
the enemy face on, and then all of a sudden,
that's when your character is tested. That's when your metal
(23:37):
is tested. And right now, out of a four way race,
there is only one candidate who has actually been in
legal combat doing the legal fights that matter most on
behalf of the state of Texas and to Texans, and
it's me my other three opponents. Regardless of what you
think about their legislative records, it doesn't matter. This isn't
(23:58):
a super legislative position. It's the state's top legal law
enforcement executive branch role. And voters know this. Our voters, Michael,
you know this. The grassroots are smart, They are discerning,
They ask the right questions, and they align themselves with
people that they fully trust in, and they know that
if I was good enough for President Trump, if I
(24:19):
was good enough for the President to say Aaron Rights
is a true MAGA attorney and a warrior for the Constitution,
then that's the guy that they're going to align with.
That's the one who they're going to vote for. That's
the one they're going to text their friends about. That's
the one that they're going to donate their hard earned
money to. And it's not my opponents. And I will
tell your listeners hearing my voice for the first time,
I will tell you this, the stakes are way way
(24:42):
too high to give this position to somebody who is
not absolutely ready and battle hardened for the fight that's
ahead of us. Do not take your chances with somebody
who's never done this before. Don't take your chances with
somebody who's just making a play declined to the next wrong,
or somebody who's just running because it increases their statewide
(25:03):
name ID and allows him to raise more money, or
who is failing upwards because their path has been blocked
at every turn. Allow it. Vote for somebody who's battle tester.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
Aaron Wrights is running for Texas Attorney General. Will continue
our conversation with him coming up. Aaron Wrights is our
guest spelled R E I t Z. He is running
(25:36):
to replace John damn It. He is running to replace
Ken Paston, who is running against John Cornyn in the
US Senate race, a race that saw a third entrant
today or will be seeing, and that is Wesley Hunt,
congressman from the thirty eighth Congressional district, which of course
will pop open his congressional seat and there will be
(25:59):
a race for that. So Hunt in against Cornyan and Paxton.
Paxton leaving the AG's race means that Aaron Wrights has
entered that race along with Chip Roy, Mays Middleton, and
Joan Hoffman. Aaron Wrights take a moment, if you would,
and I'm going to time you take two minutes to
(26:20):
explain to folks what the Attorney General's office actually does
and why it's so important.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
Yeah. Great question. So Article four, section twenty two of
the Texas Constitution says, quote, the Attorney General shall represent
the State of Texas in all courts and pleas. This
is a legal executive branch law enforcement job. The Attorney
General is the state of Texas when it comes to
(26:49):
legal fights. That means that on behalf of the state
of Texas, the Attorney General may go on offense as
a plaintiff. It means the Attorney General may be in
a defense position as a defendant when other entities come
after the state. And it also means that the Attorney
General can launch investigations consistent with state law to discern whether,
(27:13):
you know, pull at legal threads to discern whether or
not state law or federal law within the jurisdiction of
the State of Texas is being violated. The powers that
inhere in the attorney General, both constitutional and statutory, are vast.
I want your listeners to think of the Attorney General
as someone who presides over one of the most robust
(27:37):
legal armories that one can imagine. It is a legal armory.
The legislature stocks the armory full of weapons. Then the
Attorney General, however, must go into that armory and, depending
on the enemy of the day, select the appropriate weapon
to go after that enemy. So one day you may
have an enemy that requires a belt fed machine gun
(28:00):
with a tripod. Then another day it may just require
a booie knife to slip in under the ribs of
the enemy and take them out and walk away. Another day,
there may be an enemy that's so overwhelming the attorney
General needs superior air covering, can call and help from
the Trump administration. And then there are other days where
the enemy is coming and we need to bring out
defensive weapons. And so that's how I want folks to
(28:23):
think about the attorney general, who is ready to engage
in legal combat in a lawfair environment, who has handled
these weapons, who is battle tested, who has sustained scars
to competently and effectively and energetically fight the enemies of liberty,
the enemies of Texas, and the enemies of the Constitution.
And out of the four people in this race, there
(28:44):
is only one person who has that credible experience, and
it's me.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
Aaron Wrights, which is spelled Oreiitz is our guest. We're
talking about his bid to be the next turn in general.
When we talk about the nuts and bolts of the campaign.
Obviously Ken Paxton came out and endorsed you, Ted Cruz
endorsed Chip Roy. The expectation has been, with your experience
(29:14):
with President Trump, the expectation is that President Trump will
endorse you. How confident do you feel that he will
do that publicly?
Speaker 3 (29:25):
So I want to be very clear. When I left
the Trump administration, it was after two months plus a
very careful and thoughtful and deliberate due diligence with my
superiors and colleagues in the West Wing and at the
Justice Department, And only after receiving the full blessing of
everyone that helped to get me into the Justice Department
(29:47):
that I make the ultimate decision to jump into this race.
Why did I get that permission because the Trump administration
understands that this position the Texas Attorney General is not
just some back or state office for somebody who wants
to climb the rungs. It is mission essential nationally to
advance the America first in MAGA law and order agenda.
(30:09):
It's why when I announced, I got twenty different public
statements from the Attorney General of the United States, the
Deputy Attorney General, FBI Director Borders are and so on
and so forth. All this is publicly available out on
social media saying, look, Aaron is the guy for the job,
and he's going to make America safe again back in
his home state of Texas. Now, the question of the
(30:30):
complete and total endorsement is a separate conversation. We stand
ideally positioned to earn the President's in total, complete and
total endorsement. That is something that we are in constant
communication with this administration on. But it's early and the
President wants his people to show that they can jump
out of the nest and fly on their own. And
(30:51):
I think by any metric, whether it's fundraising or social
media or media appearances, ability on the stump and on
the trail, endorse, et cetera, et cetera. I think the
President Trump and his team know that they've got not
only somebody who's been fully vetted by them, somebody who's
already been declared by the President himself to be a
true MAGA attorney and a warrior for the Constitution, but
(31:14):
somebody who that the President can confidently endorse at the
right time, when it makes the most sense and when
it has the biggest impact. And so I think that
I stand ideally positioned to earn it. I want to
earn it. And what I would communicate to President Trump,
if you were listening to your show, is, Sir, you
will have no better ally, no better partner in advancing
(31:37):
your law and order agenda right here in the Lone
Star state in a way that has national impact. And
by the way, I think voters know this as well,
and it's why they are rallying to my flag and
they're not rallying to my opponent's flags.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Aaron writes, is our guest. His last name, since a
number of you have asked, is spelled RAI t Z.
A number of Trump officials endorsing you. The expectation that
I hear from the rumor mills into which I tap
suggests that Trump will endorse you at the appropriate time
to give maximum value to that. The Cruise endorsement for
(32:14):
Chip Roy came out really early, I think, with an
intention of trying to show there's going to be some
grassroots support everything that that was intended to do. Ken
Paxton coming out and saying, hey, he's the guy for
my job. I've done my job, well, you love me.
He'll do a good job. I think this and the
US Senate race are going to be the two marquee
(32:34):
races that are going to get all the attention over
the next few months. But I think it's safe to say,
and you've alluded to this, that this is going to
be an The one of the angles of this race
is going to be the sort of Cruise Roy wing
of what we're once never Trumper's against the Trump world
(32:55):
and their influence in an internal race in Texas with
you representing the Trump side, and I think we're going
to see a lot of that play out because you
take the Cornin institutional side and you take sort of
more not exactly Groy Berser to that extent, but the
(33:15):
never Trump wing over here. And I think that's going
to be chip Roy's folks and then the Trump world folks,
which obviously are already with you and he's expected to
be you. Is that a fair assessment.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
Yeah, I think that you've got the battle lines right.
I mean, look, chip Roy represents the chip Roy is
the guy who hates President Trump so much that he
went out of his way. He was the first elected
official in Congress to recruit Ron DeSantis to oppose President
Trump for the twenty four presidential cycle and then travel
(33:48):
around the country with the other loathsome never Trumper, Thomas Massey.
It was chip Roy, Thomas Massey and Ron de Santis
buddying up, traveling the country to oppose President Trump for months.
And how many counties did they win? Zero? That's because
chip Roy is on the wrong side of this fight.
(34:09):
The President knows it, his teams know it, his team
knows it, and the grassroots knows it. I'm very clear,
I'm with the President, I'm with Paxon, I'm the MAGA
Attorney general candidate in this race, and I think that
folks are going to come and rally around our flag
that is Aaron Wright's spelled r e
Speaker 2 (34:25):
A t z
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