Sen. John Cornyn is apparently still miffed that he lost the Texas Republican Senate primary earlier this week to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, in part, due to President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
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The defeated Texas senator made his thoughts known — sort of — on Friday in a cryptic social media post that seemed very similar to a song that the president is fond of quoting at rallies.
Trump has been known to quote “The Snake,” a 1969 hit from soul singer Al Wilson, where a woman is bitten by a snake she previously helped, only to have the animal tell her, “You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in.”
Cornyn’s post substituted a scorpion and a frog for the woman and the snake, respectively, but it was basically the same story. He called it “an old, but apt fable,” and credited it to Wikipedia.
An old, but apt fable:
A scorpion wants to cross a river but cannot swim, so it asks a frog to carry it across. The frog hesitates, afraid that the scorpion might sting it, but the scorpion promises not to, pointing out that it would drown if it killed the frog in the middle of…
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) May 29, 2026
Many people on social media assumed that Cornyn was referring to Trump’s decision to endorse Paxton despite ― or, perhaps because of ― a long history of corruption allegations.
So President Trump is the scorpion and you’re the frog?
— Stephen Richer (@stephen_richer) May 29, 2026
Definitely not a metaphor https://t.co/H5t6yUX9nT
— Connor O’Brien (@connorobrienNH) May 29, 2026
You should have voted to convict the scorpion in its impeachment trial, Senator Frog https://t.co/WlgbsW4VST
— Aaron Fritschner (@Fritschner) May 29, 2026
Dear Senator @JohnCornyn: Thank you for the fable. I’m curious, why do you and so many other Republican elected officials choose to be hesitant frogs?
Why not choose to be the elephant that has historically represented the GOP. Elephants are not scared of poisonous scorpions. https://t.co/F2ajPrRvMJ
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) May 29, 2026
Some people wondered why Cornyn was being so cryptic.
Can you not bring yourself to mention his name? https://t.co/Re541qZguw
— Edward Luce (@EdwardGLuce) May 29, 2026
I do get it, but this is Twitter and you’re allowed to actually shitpost those bad people by name. https://t.co/QjpHSScYXK
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) May 29, 2026
Allow me to interpret:
Cornyn and fellow do nothing Republicans are the scorpion, voters chose not to trust him and others for another cycle.
Cornyn is sad about this, but we really don’t care. https://t.co/QzMowz67pm
— CA ET Nerd (@earlyvotedata) May 29, 2026
Puck reporter Leigh Ann Caldwell said Cornyn’s post reflected what other Republican politicians are saying in private.
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John Cornyn comes out and says what senators have been telling me privately….
They’re perplexed, angry, and, in some cases, resigned to the conclusion that Trump cares more about himself than the midterms. https://t.co/4EeopRNcZE https://t.co/UHHslpqGKv
— Leigh Ann Caldwell (@LACaldwellDC) May 29, 2026
Others just called out Cornyn for making the mistake of getting involved with Trump in the first place.
This is actually what Trump did to you https://t.co/O87v3ppUUl
— Adam Kinzinger (Slava Ukraini) 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@AdamKinzinger) May 29, 2026
Nearly every Republican knows Trump is a scorpion.
He would sting any of them without hesitation to help himself or just because he feels like it. That is his character.
And nearly all still choose to serve him anyway. https://t.co/tt8DF4bO1S
— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) May 29, 2026
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, and must be held so. https://t.co/m59tdJGovs
— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) May 29, 2026
John: If you believe what you said about Paxton, and if you now believe what you’re saying about Trump (maybe you should name him?) — you should support Talarico. https://t.co/NZyWoMctS8
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) May 29, 2026
Some questioned the timing of Cornyn’s post …
Don’t you love when politicians preach truth as soon as they realize their careers are over? https://t.co/mkTYkcLvAt
— Kevin Baron (@DefenseBaron) May 29, 2026
Hilarious seeing these spineless clowns get all high and mighty with their moralizing once they get kicked out https://t.co/PSHQNnCwmQ
— Deva Hazarika (@devahaz) May 29, 2026
Will Saletan, who writes for the Bulwark, told Cornyn that he should have learned the lesson in the parable years ago.
“The reason they wrote these fables is so you’d learn them as a child, not when you’re 74,” he responded.
The reason they wrote these fables is so you’d learn them as a child, not when you’re 74.
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— Will Saletan (@saletan) May 29, 2026
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