Conservative Radio Host Hits Back at Jab From Laura Ingraham, Accuses Her of Saying Things She Knows ‘Are Not True’

(Photo by Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)

Conservative radio star Erick Erickson pulled no punches on Tuesday in clapping back at Fox News host Laura Ingraham, who jabbed him for his scathing criticism of Ken Paxton.

The mini-spat began online after Erickson posted a quick blurb for his latest Substack article, titled “The Pyrrhic Victory Long Ago Predicted.”

The “Pyrrhic Victory” Erickson wrote about was that of Trump-backed Paxton beating longtime incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in the Texas GOP primary. Cornyn was widely seen as the stronger general election candidate to take on state lawmaker James Talarico (D) in the general election. Talarico is now leading Paxton, the sitting and scandal-plagued attorney general.

“The only thing for which Paxton has ever shown prodigious energy is philandery and possibly corruption. He is a lazy candidate in a heated race, and laziness is not a flaw you can fundraise your way around. In the primary, I argued that Paxton could beat John Cornyn and that dragging the man across the finish line in November could cost Republicans the Senate. We have arrived at that moment,” wrote Erickson on social media, adding:

Paxton’s supporters now insist everyone else must carry him. They want the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the outside groups, the donor class, and President Trump to spend whatever it takes, even if the money spent in Texas costs Republicans Alaska, Iowa, Maine, and Ohio, and even if it forecloses winnable pickups in Michigan and New Hampshire. Saving Paxton, they say, matters more than saving the country from a Democrat controlled Senate. That is nonsense. I said it in the primary, and I stand by it now.

Ingraham was not impressed with Erickson’s take and made it known in a reply to the radio host, writing, “Another NeverTrump Republican rooting for Talarico.”

Erickson hit back, writing, “Hey @IngrahamAngle, actually, I deeply oppose Talarico and don’t want him elected and am deeply frustrated that Paxton isn’t doing what must be done. But you spend each day telling people publicly things you know privately are not true (See e.g., your private statements about the 2020 election revealed in discovery) and lose the ability to hold your own side accountable as a syncophant.”

Erickson later followed up by calling out Ingraham for privately criticizing some of the key figures in Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. “Also, @IngrahamAngle here is a helpful reminder of what happens when you take one position publicly and another privately as opposed to just telling people what you think and not carrying water for one side,” he wrote, linking to a Guardian article on Ingraham slamming Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell.

“I just like to tell my audience the truth,” he concluded.

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