Not Even The New York Times Could Ignore James Talarico's 45-Student Classroom Fantasy

AI generated image of manly man Big Jim Talarico

Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico has apparently discovered that a political career is a lot like a middle school classroom: It helps to have a good story, even if the attendance records don't quite cooperate.

Much like Joe Biden's claim that Charlottesville inspired his 2020 presidential run, Talarico, a former middle school teacher, has built part of his political origin story around a harrowing tale of educational austerity.

According to manly man Talarico, his first year teaching in San Antonio was a nightmarish exercise in overcrowding, with 45 students crammed into a single classroom and not enough desks to go around.

It's a compelling story. There's just one small problem. According to former newspaper The New York Times, the official records don't support it. Is it possible that a political candidate would lie? Heaven forfend!

Talarico has repeatedly trotted out the tale to explain how Republican budget cuts supposedly opened his eyes to the cruelty of conservative governance. In one account, he recalled teaching sixth-grade language arts at Rhodes Middle School, home of the Fighting Wildcats, in a poor neighborhood on San Antonio's west side.

He practically had to fight his way into the building.

Manly man Big Jim Talarico

"The west side is this beautiful, historic neighborhood. It's also one of the poorest ZIP codes in the entire state of Texas," Talarico explained. "And it was in 2011, right after our state legislature in Texas cut more than $5 billion from public education in our state. And so I saw the impacts of these cuts firsthand. I saw how decisions made in the halls of power hurt flesh and blood human beings."

Then came the classroom catastrophe.

"At one point, I had 45 students in one classroom, and there weren't enough desks for all those kids," Talarico said. "And it was after lunch so you can imagine middle schoolers after lunch in a giant, you know, in a packed classroom."

One can practically hear the anguished cries of overworked teachers and the distant sound of a Democratic campaign consultant realizing he'd found the perfect anecdote.

Talarico repeated the story on The Breakfast Club podcast, again connecting his supposed classroom ordeal to Republican education cuts.

"I always say that teaching middle school is the best preparation for politics," Talarico said. "And the west side of San Antonio, it's one of the poorest ZIP codes in the state of Texas. I entered the classroom in the fall of 2011, right after the state legislature in Texas cut $5 billion dollars from public schools. So as a brand new teacher, I saw the impact of those cuts firsthand. At one point, I had 45 students in one classroom. There weren't enough desks for all those kids."

Apparently, the story was too good to leave in the classroom. It had to be taken on the road.

Unfortunately for Talarico, The New York Times decided to do something increasingly unfashionable in modern journalism: check the records.

Big Jim and Howdy Doody

According to the newspaper, Texas Education Agency documents show that the largest class assigned to Talarico ever contained 30 students. Most of his classes had between 22 and 27 students, while one had just 17.

Former students and colleagues remembered classrooms in which every desk was occupied. They did not, however, recall the sort of overcrowded human warehouse Talarico described, complete with students apparently competing for seating rights on top of air conditioners.

Thirty students is certainly a substantial class. But it's also 15 fewer than the number featured in Talarico's repeatedly delivered tale of educational misery. That's a rather inconvenient discrepancy for a politician who has made a career out of explaining how his classroom experiences shaped his progressive worldview.

Talarico's spokesman, JT Ennis, did not dispute the official class-size records, but offered an explanation that raises its own questions. According to Ennis, Talarico had worked with school administrators to reduce the number of students in his classroom.

"After having 45 students placed in his classroom, James worked with school administrators to redistribute students across classes and create the learning environment that his students deserved," Ennis said.

That explanation appears to introduce a crucial distinction. Perhaps 45 students were initially assigned to Talarico's classroom before administrators redistributed them. But the official records cited by the Times do not establish that this happened, and the spokesman declined to arrange an interview with Talarico to clarify the matter.

For a candidate who has repeatedly used the 45-student figure to illustrate the damage allegedly inflicted by Republican lawmakers, some additional details would seem appropriate.

How many students were actually in the room? When were they redistributed? And if the classroom was reduced to 30 students or fewer, why does the original number continue to appear in Talarico's political storytelling?

These are apparently the sorts of questions that can turn a stirring campaign anecdote into an administrative paperwork problem.

And the 45-student story isn't the only part of Talarico's teaching career attracting scrutiny.

Lone Star Liberty PAC has also highlighted Talarico's recurring account of a troubled student named Justin, whose story has become another centerpiece of the candidate's personal mythology.

According to Talarico's telling, Justin was a new student who had been kicked out of his elementary school twice for bringing a knife to school and threatening to stab his teacher. The Texas Tribune reported that Talarico described welcoming the boy with a handshake and telling him he was glad to have him in class.

The story then followed a reassuring narrative arc. Justin began seeing a school-provided therapist, joined a group of students who ate lunch in the classroom, and started participating in lessons.

Then came the Christmas break.

After returning from the holidays, Justin reportedly got into a fight and was removed from the building by "two football coaches." According to Talarico's account, the boy was never seen again.

It's a dramatic tale of troubled youth, compassionate teaching, and the limits of intervention. It would also make a fine screenplay, assuming the production could secure the necessary documentation.

The Texas Tribune reported that school officials remembered Justin but "could not confirm the specific details Talarico described."

That doesn't prove the story was fabricated. Memories differ, and school records may not preserve every detail of a student's life. But it does mean that another emotionally powerful anecdote in Talarico's political biography remains unverified in important respects.

At some point, voters are entitled to wonder whether they're hearing a teacher's recollections or a campaign writer's increasingly polished screenplay.

Talarico's broader political record has also drawn criticism over his positions on fossil fuels, transgender issues, and boys competing in girls' sports. Conservatives have challenged his explanations of those positions, particularly when they appear at odds with his more moderate public presentation.

Now, with the classroom story under scrutiny, Talarico faces a problem that no amount of carefully rehearsed political theater can easily solve: his own repeated words are colliding with the available evidence.

"Yes, Mom, I'll shave when I get home"

The irony is that Talarico has spent considerable time presenting himself as a teacher who understands the consequences of dishonesty in public life. His classroom anecdotes are intended to establish his moral credentials, demonstrating that he witnessed the failures of conservative governance firsthand and emerged determined to fight for ordinary Texans.

But if the numbers in his signature classroom story are wrong, the lesson may be rather different from the one he intended.

Texas voters should not have to grade a Senate candidate on a curve. They should be able to expect that the stories politicians use to justify their ambitions bear some resemblance to reality.

And if Talarico wants to lecture Texans about accountability, perhaps he could begin with a simple assignment: explain where the other 15 students came from.

No extra credit will be awarded for dramatic storytelling.

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Talarico Isn't Fooling Voters About Bible Claims and Abortion

AUSTIN, TX—In a breathtaking display of a theological contortionist's gymnastics that would leave even a professional Cirque du Soleil acrobat weeping, Texas Democratic Senate candidate and ordained Presbyterian minister James Talarico managed to convince himself that a book containing roughly 800,000 words somehow forgot to mention the topic of ending human life.

During a CNN and Jubilee town hall event featuring the segment “Change My Mind: Abortion,” Talarico looked straight into the eyes of voters and delivered the kind of profound ecclesiastical revelation normally reserved for a seminary dropout trying to pass a midterms exam.

“The Bible is silent on the issue of abortion,” Talarico stated with a straight face, adding, “It means you and I both have to look at different scriptures to try to come to a conclusion.”

Unfortunately for the candidate, one Catholic voter in the audience decided to bring a little thing called historical context to the party. Stepping up to the microphone, the voter delivered a rather blunt reality check.

“The Bible is not silent on abortion,” the voter responded. “There is the Ten Commandments, thou shalt not kill, and as Catholics, we take great insult when it’s spouted that way.”

The exchange immediately went viral across social media platforms, with conservative commentators eager to dissect the wreckage. 

Daily Wire reporter Jacob Wheeler described it as a “stunning moment” of pushback against the candidate. 

Political commentator Benny Johnson offered a slightly more dramatic assessment, writing that the Catholic voter essentially “nuked” Talarico from orbit. The voter’s remarks even managed to draw genuine applause from segments of the studio audience, proving that actual literacy remains surprisingly popular.

Talarico, who frequently weaves his Christian faith into a campaign supporting expanded abortion access, now faces the tricky task of convincing voters that God spent all that time etching commandments onto stone tablets just to leave a convenient loophole for elective medical procedures.

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Was James Talarico in a mental institution or did he actually have the flu?

Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico has returned to the campaign trail after nearly two weeks out of public view, but a recorded phone call alleging he was discharged from an Ohio mental-health facility has intensified scrutiny of his absence. His campaign insists he was home in Austin recovering from the flu. So far, neither the allegation nor the campaign’s account has been independently verified in full. 

But we all know a politician and his staff, would never lie on their behalf.

The state representative went roughly 12 days without an in-person campaign appearance in late September and early October. His campaign blamed influenza, saying he was diagnosed at a Dallas urgent-care facility on September 30 and recovered at home in Austin.

And we all know a politician and his staff, would never lie on their behalf.

For a candidate hoping to flip a Republican Senate seat, disappearing during a critical stretch of the campaign is hardly ideal. President Donald Trump, Republican nominee Ken Paxton, and political commentators all took notice.

Talarico resurfaced at the festival on October 9. Campaign spokesman JT Ennis posted video of the candidate and declared, “Hate to disappoint the conspiracy theorists, but James is still alive and meeting with voters at ACL today.”

Being alive and attending a music festival, however, does not answer every question about an extended absence. If you pay attention to some of the things he had said, including his take on Christianity, you would not be surprised to hear another take on where he actually was during his absence.

On October 11, independent journalists Nick Sortor and Rhein Amacher released a recording of a phone call with an unidentified employee at the Lindner Center of Hope, a residential mental-health facility in Mason, Ohio. According to the journalists, the employee reportedly said, after a pause, that Talarico “was just discharged this evening,” or within the preceding 24 to 48 hours, and confirmed the facility's name.

Sortor and others have presented the recording as evidence that Talarico was a patient there, contradicting the campaign's explanation that he was recovering from the flu at home in Austin. Related reporting has cited private-flight tracking involving a nearby Ohio airport and the fact that Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo previously stayed at the same facility. Neither detail independently establishes that Talarico received treatment there.
 
The campaign has categorically denied the allegation.

Ennis responded: “This is a lie designed to promote a pathetic conspiracy theory. Last week James Talarico was home in Austin, Texas recovering from the flu.”

The facility has issued no public confirmation of Talarico's alleged stay. Subsequent callers, including Brian Krassenstein, reportedly received the standard response that patient information cannot be confirmed or denied.

As of October 11, no official records, facility statement, or independent verification establishes that Talarico was treated at the center. The recording has fueled speculation, but it does not conclusively prove the allegation. Earlier reporting also described the mental-health rumors as unverified.

The distinction matters. Voters have every right to question a candidate's unexplained absence, but allegations should not be presented as established facts without evidence.

Talarico offered his own explanation during a September 30 video appearance at the United States Hispanic Business Council's “In Dialogue: Texas” candidate forum in Edinburg. He had originally planned to attend in person.

“I was starting to feel kind of under the weather a few days ago and last night it got so bad that I went to the urgent care here in Dallas, and I was diagnosed with the flu.”

His last scheduled in-person appearance before the illness was reportedly a September 28 New York fundraiser featuring actor Robert De Niro.

Talarico is expected to resume a full schedule of in-person events. CNN and Jubilee Media have also scheduled a live town hall with him in Fort Worth for October 14 at 7 p.m. Central, with Paxton invited.

That appearance will give Talarico another opportunity to address voters. Whether he can put the controversy behind him remains to be seen.
A Candidate With a Rather Unusual Christian Message

Talarico has made Christianity central to his political identity. His campaign describes him as “a Presbyterian seminarian studying to become a pastor.”

Yet his policy positions include support for federal legislation codifying Roe v. Wade and protecting same-sex marriage, putting him at odds with many traditional Christians.

His longtime Austin congregation, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, has previously listed Planned Parenthood Greater Texas among organizations that shared its “vision and goals for the world.” The church's benevolence budget has also supported the organization, according to The Dallas Express.

Talarico has also attracted criticism for declaring that “God is non-binary” and arguing that there were six biological sexes. He subsequently revised those positions.

In a September Fox News interview, he acknowledged that he had “missed the mark on some of my past statements,” said there are two sexes, and supported a federal ban on sex-alteration surgeries for minors.

The reversal raises an obvious political question: Has Talarico genuinely reconsidered his views, or is he adjusting his message to appeal to Texas voters as Election Day approaches?

Even some on the left have expressed dissatisfaction. The Washington Post reported that Texas Stonewall Democrats leader Robert Vargas III called Talarico's recent remarks “a significant shift,” while Equality Texas CEO Brad Pritchett said, “We expect better.”

Meanwhile, socialist streamer Hasan Piker has applied pressure from another direction. At a September 30 event at the University of Texas at Austin, Piker told activists who helped Talarico win his primary to remind the candidate who put him in power. As The Dallas Express reported, Piker said that “if he wants to maintain it he’s got to play ball.”

Talarico must therefore navigate competing demands from progressive activists while attempting to reassure voters who may be uncomfortable with his earlier statements. His challenge is to explain whether his changing positions reflect genuine conviction or political expediency.
Democratic Unity Shows Cracks

Talarico's difficulties extend beyond Republicans and religious conservatives.

The Congressional Black Caucus PAC endorsed him in September, and Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett publicly supported him after losing her own primary. Yet Crockett's Fueling Individual Rights Everywhere PAC later released an endorsement list that did not include Talarico.

That omission does not establish a falling-out, but it illustrates the complications facing a nominee who must unite competing factions of his party.

Sheena Flanary, a former Collin County Democratic Party chair who now serves as Texas Democratic Party vice chair for voter engagement, also said in an undercover recording that Talarico's campaign had rebuffed her offers of assistance, according to The Dallas Express.

Talarico has faced pointed questions from Black voters before, including at a July 19 town hall in Houston.

Winning the Democratic nomination is one thing. Building a statewide coalition is another. Talarico must persuade voters that his candidacy offers more than carefully calibrated messaging designed to appease whichever faction happens to be demanding his attention.
Why the Race Matters

Republicans hold 53 Senate seats, compared with 45 Democrats and two independents who caucus with them. A Democratic victory in Texas would eliminate one Republican seat in a cycle in which Democrats need a net gain of four seats to reach 51.

Texas has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since Lloyd Bentsen won reelection in 1988. Flipping the state would therefore represent a major Democratic victory, with consequences for legislation, judicial confirmations, federal spending, and President Donald Trump's agenda.

For Republicans, the opportunity is to make Talarico defend his record, his shifting positions, and his vision for the country. For Talarico, the challenge is to demonstrate that he can withstand scrutiny and represent Texans rather than simply satisfy the demands of progressive activists.

The allegation concerning the Ohio mental-health facility remains unverified and should be treated accordingly. But the broader questions surrounding Talarico's campaign, including his public statements and ability to manage a high-stakes Senate race, are legitimate subjects of debate.

Voters need neither accept every campaign explanation at face value nor believe every rumor circulating online. They should demand evidence, examine the candidates' records, and judge them on their policies and conduct.

Early voting in Texas begins October 19 and runs through October 30. Election Day is November 3.

Talarico's return to public view may end his absence from the campaign trail, but it does not end the scrutiny. With control of the Senate potentially at stake, Texas voters deserve a clear account of what their candidates believe, what they intend to do in Washington, and why they should be trusted with the responsibility.

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Talarico’s Kindergarten Republic Leaves Grown-Ups Reaching for the Door

Texas Democrat comrade James Talarico, currently trying to talk his way past Attorney General Ken Paxton and into the Senate seat held by John Cornyn, stared into a camera and offered the country a governing model that sounds like it was workshopped during circle time and cookies.

“What if we ran our world like we run a kindergarten classroom? Because at the end of the day, aren’t we all just really big kindergartners?” the asked.

Voters who still think adulthood involves mortgages, jury duty, and the occasional original thought did not greet this as statesmanship. They treated it like a substitute teacher who lost control of the room.

“He’s just so … soft. I hate it,” Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet replied. “How is it possible that a grown man thinks this is a winning idea? Where have all the men gone? It’s baffling,”The Blaze contributor T.J. Moe added.

“Really Big Kindergartner is actually the best description I’ve heard of what Talarico looks like,” another added.

Conservative pundit Chris Loesch warned, “Never let this gelatinous creep around a kindergartner regardless how he identifies.” 

The pitch is consistent with a politics that already prefers citizens as dependents. First the state wants to manage your doctor. Then it wants to manage your snack and your feelings. Talarico simply said the quiet part with finger paint and mucous.

His campaign has also spent considerable energy pretending his earlier creepy record on children and gender ideology never happened. That record included support for giving young children access to cross-sex hormones and surgeries, plus a vote for a measure that would treat parents who refused to play along as child abusers. “Some of us, I think, really do consider this abusive behavior … an unwillingness to identify, or, to acknowledge a child’s gender identity, we consider that abusive to the child, abusive and destructive,” he said in 2019.

On Fox News he announced a late conversion [leaving out the real reason: political aspirations]. He no longer believes there are six genders [unless elected]. He also said he would oppose biological males in girls’ and women’s sports if their presence affected “safety and fairness.”

What a transparent scumcrumpet.

So the man who once wanted the government to overrule parents of actual five-year-olds now wants the rest of the country to sit on the rug while he explains how grown-ups should live. Texas will decide whether it prefers a Senate that treats voters like adults or one that hands out gold stars and timeout chairs.

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James "with a nutsack' Talarico trashes "neighbors with a uterus"

Democratic Senate nominee James "With A Nutsack" Talarico has apparently discovered the secret to progressive theology: if you reduce a woman to a reproductive organ, you can then explain why protecting unborn children is somehow oppressive.

The Texas state representative and failed Presbyterian seminarian has repeatedly referred to women as “neighbors with a uterus” while defending the killing of babies in the uterus, apparently deciding that “women” was simply too biologically specific for the modern progressive vocabulary. What kind of Christian believes that garbage?

In one clip addressing a congregation after the 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, Talarico declared: “Every one of our neighbors with a uterus became the property of the state.”

This is, of course, a rather creative interpretation of what the Supreme Court actually did. The Court didn't announce that women had suddenly become government property. It simply returned the abortion question to the states, allowing voters and their elected representatives to decide whether unborn children should be legally protected. That's why we call our country is a republic, specifically a democratic republic.

Apparently, in Talarico's fake theological universe, allowing citizens to debate whether unborn babies should be protected constitutes government ownership of women. Somehow the unborn child, who is actually the one being killed, manages to disappear entirely from the argument--how convenient.

Talarico has also declared that he wants “our neighbors with a uterus to be able to control their own body.”

The phrase is certainly useful if the objective is to discuss abortion without mentioning the inconvenient biological reality that there are two bodies involved, much like the two tiny nuts in his sack.

A 2024 recording provides another glimpse into Talarico's linguistic gymnastics. While discussing the morality of abortion, he began to say “woman” before correcting himself and returning to his preferred leftist terminology.

Apparently, even the word “woman” has now been placed on the progressive theological watchlist.

Talarico later shared a version of his remarks on X in November 2022, accompanying video of himself bloviating: “This summer, more than half our population became second-class citizens. Every one of our neighbors with a uterus became the property of the State. And nothing is more un-Christian.”

Talarico replaces “woman” with a description from a medical textbook and then declares that anyone who disagrees with you is violating Christianity is contradicts Christian theology.

Jimmy with a nutsack has used the phrase repeatedly when discussing biological women and has even declared that “our trans community needs abortion care too,” apparently overlooking the minor biological inconvenience that men who claim to be women do not become pregnant simply because a progressive politician says they can.

Pro-life observers have condemned the language as demeaning and dehumanizing, arguing that reducing women to a single body part is hardly the great feminist breakthrough progressives claim it to be. Apparently, the movement that once insisted women should be valued as complete human beings has now decided that “uterus” is the preferred substitute for “woman.”

Religious and political figures have also sharply criticized Talarico's theological arguments, accusing him of bending Scripture to accommodate progressive political orthodoxy.

Islam much?

Evangelist Franklin Graham rejected Talarico's claim that Scripture is silent on abortion, saying: “Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico couldn’t be more wrong! The Bible is not silent on abortion as he claims—that’s an absolute lie. God commands us, ‘You shall not murder’ (Exodus 20:13). Abortion is taking a life—it is murder.”

Graham further warned: “Don’t be deceived by wicked politicians spouting lies like this.”

Daily Wire host Matt Walsh has likewise accused Talarico of twisting biblical teaching concerning life in the womb, describing him as a “creepy-looking heretic and fake pastor who pathologically lies to Christians over and over again about what the scripture says… he is completely insane.”

And evil, if you really consider what he spouts.

Blaze Media host Allie Beth Stuckey has also challenged Talarico's theological arguments, calling his use of Scripture to justify abortion “absurdly evil” and “demonic.”

The controversy, originally amplified earlier this year by groups supporting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, has resurfaced as the Senate race heats up.

And if Talarico's rhetoric is any indication, voters can apparently look forward to a Senate campaign in which the Democratic nominee explains that women are actually “neighbors with a uterus,” unborn children are apparently a secondary consideration, and the Bible becomes considerably more flexible whenever progressive politics needs a little divine assistance.

At this rate, the Ten Commandments may soon require a progressive translation. “You shall not murder” could become “Please respect everyone's reproductive choices,” while “Honor thy father and mother” will presumably be replaced by “Ask your neighbors with a uterus.”

Progressive theology has never sounded so strangely anatomical. 

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Macho man Jimmy ['The Trucker'] Talarico crows about hiding illegal aliens and calls Texas Christians "Christo-Fascists"

AI generated

Fox News got its hands on a video of a 2023 interview showing Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico bragging about how his church illegally sheltered illegal aliens from legal deportation. The church also fought for “LGBTQ rights in the ‘90s,” and allowed an atheist to join the congregation in the 2000s because it doesn't put much stock in Jesus.

In a dazzling display of progressive piety that would leave any ordinary churchgoer scratching their head, Talarico helpfully boiled down his congregation's hyper-progressive illegal stunts by declaring that “Christianity is just another word for causing trouble,” as if leftist anti-American law-breaking were the purest expression of the faith.

Not to be outdone, the truck maven Talarico then casually branded conservative Christians “Christo-facists” for the unforgivable sin of advancing policies like bans on killing the unborn and sex change surgeries for minors, school choice voucher programs, and displaying the Ten Commandments.

"All these ideologies stem from this Christo-fascism movement, which, essentially, like I said, is just using faith to exercise raw political, social and economic power," Talarico told the interviewer. "I think it's dangerous to all of us, but particularly to those who are marginalized and oppressed in our state."

Evidently, cutting off human appendages to try looking like the opposite sex of a child, and murdering babies in the womb, is safe, sane, and the right thing to do because young children can make life-altering decisions and babies are a lot of work and take away from one's time.

Naturally, the Talarico campaign has raced to backpedal from these illuminating remarks, insisting their candidate is merely a moderate Christian who suddenly believes in border security and supports law enforcement. 

A spokes socialist for the Talarico campaign dismissed Republican criticism of the candidate's progressive beliefs as “flat out lies.”

"James is a Christian seminarian who’s dedicated his life to the teachings of Jesus Christ, fighting religious and political corruption when he sees it because there’s nothing Christ-like about powerful people twisting the teachings of Jesus to justify hate, violence, and greed,” the spokes socialist told Fox News. 

“While billionaire-bought politicians like Ken Paxton attack James for his faith, he will continue encouraging Texans across the political spectrum to come together by loving their neighbors as themselves." 

Talarico’s earlier takes on Christianity have kept the fireworks going all campaign long, from claiming the Annunciation of Our Lord justified abortion, to declaring God is non-binary, to insisting that prohibiting sex changes for minors was sinful.Now this progressive past of Talarico’s is set to square off against key Trump-ally Ken Paxton for control of the Texas Senate seat in November’s midterm elections.

For a big, tough, truck-driving Texan, James Talarico is a lightweight. It would be incredibly surprising, and equally as sad, if this clown wins in the election.

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James Talarico seen on camera driving rental truck in "Real Texas" campaign ad

Flip the 'a' and the 'e' in Texas

In the latest chapter of Democrats trying to cosplay as salt-of-the-earth Texans, a campaign ad peddling James Talarico as some macho working-class badass shows the Democrat gripping the wheel of a Dodge Ram 1500 that, according to a report published Wednesday, traces straight back to an Enterprise rental lot.

Digital news outlet Semafor’s David Weigel dug up the detail. The plate is right there on screen for anyone with eyes. 

Talarico’s everyday ride is a Chevy Colorado. That midsize pickup has starred in his other ads and the usual glowing profiles. The Ram 1500 he commandeers for this particular macho adjacent performance is a full-size model. Too bad he wasn't smoking a stogie as he sat behind the wheel.

The ad, titled “Waking Up,” opens with Texans crawling out of bed before the roosters and casts Talarico as one of the boys. 

He talks about being raised by a single mother “guided by faith,” his years as a teacher, and his work in the state House to lower drug costs and cut property taxes. [Why do we glorify single mothers as if that's a badge of honor?]

“I’ll take on corruption and make this economy work for working people again,” Talarico says in the ad, while not saying that he'll take on dishonesty.

Weigel asked whether the candidate’s car was in the shop. He said he did not hear back.

Politico’s Adam Wren posted a photo of what he identified as “The Talarico Colorado,” confirming the candidate’s usual vehicle. He may have previously owned a Mazda MX-5 Miata, but there is no proof of that. [Grok the "gayest car.]

One widely followed account wrote that Talarico “rented a truck from Enterprise for his ad to look like a real Texan.” A Texas political action committee asked why the candidate was “dodging questions about the rental truck.”Talarico beat Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the March primary to win the Democrat nomination. He now leads Republican Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race. A Texas Public Opinion Research survey put him ahead 45 percent to 40 percent, with a nine-point edge among non-college-educated voters. Critics have flagged a gap between how he presents himself and how he votes.

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Texas Dem Senate Candidate James Talarico Proudly Rebrands As "Talafreako," Launches Official Freak Merch Line

AUSTIN, TX—In a bold strategic masterstroke that political experts are calling "the most normal thing a Democrat has done all week," Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico has fully embraced his new nickname "Talafreako," graciously bestowed upon him by Republican opponent Ken Paxton.

Why did Paxton do so? Because Talarico freaking is.

The progressive leftist is now selling "I'm a Talafreako" T-shirts on his campaign website, proving once and for all that nothing says "serious Senate contender" like turning an insult into your entire brand identity, and while one can claim to be a socialist, it's capitalism that paved the way.

While speaking at a general election kickoff event in Houston this week, Talarico encouraged supporters to purchase a T-shirt, saying, "I also saw that Ken Paxton started calling me ‘Talafreako,’ and I am proud to announce that we have ‘I'm a Talafreako’ T-shirts on our website. So, when you go home tonight, make sure you grab one." 

After Talarico exited the stage, the crowd at the Houston rally began chanting "Talafreako" repeatedly, in what observers described as either unbridled enthusiasm or the auditory equivalent of a cry for help.

Despite the bravado, some believe that, with Talarico already having to deal with a series of highly controversial resurfaced comments, the move will backfire with moderate Texas voters. Talarico’s prior comments include saying that "God is nonbinary," that there are six genders and that the Bible supports abortion.

He offered no examples, no proof of his blasphemous and biological claims. For example, he said in 2021 during a Texas House debate on a bill restricting transgender athletes, that there are six biological sexes. “Modern science recognizes that there are many more than two biological sexes — in fact, there are six.” This cretin was referring to chromosomal variations (e.g., XX, XY, XXY, XYY, XXX, XYY). Critics called it unscientific or an overreach to argue sex is a spectrum; he has since clarified there are two sexes (men and women) while noting rare chromosomal conditions deserve dignity.

In 2021 he said "God is nonbinary." In the same or related transgender policy debate, he stated: “God is both masculine and feminine and everything in between. God is nonbinary.” He later explained it as intentionally provocative to mean God transcends human categories, citing Galatians (“in Christ there is neither male nor female”). 

Republicans and critics viewed it as insulting to Christianity or Jesus and even to God the Father.

In 2020 our genius lefty claimed that racism is a "virus." After Ahmaud Arbery’s killing. He posted on X equating racism to a virus and wrote: “White skin gives me and every white American immunity from the virus. But we spread it wherever we go—through our words, our actions, and our systems. We don’t have to be showing symptoms—like a white hood or a Confederate flag—to be contagious.” 

He called for diagnosing it within ourselves and supporting #BlackLivesMatter. 

When restrictions on transgender participation was proposed regarding men in women's sports, this idiot called parental concerns a "far-right conspiracy."

He criticized Christian nationalism, and supported progressive policies on abortion and immigration.

A strategist familiar with the Senate race remarked to Fox News Digital that "Talarico can’t run from his record of supporting every freaky left-wing policy under the sun."

"Selling merch that says ‘Talafreako’ on it is just going to remind people that he is on the wrong side of every 80/20 issue," the strategist said, adding, "It’s so weird."

The thing is, the dude really is a freak and if Texas votes him in, they will learn their mistake the hard way.

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Conservatives erupt after DNC attacks top White House Official with vulgarity in personal attack

The official Democratic National Committee X account decided Wednesday afternoon that the best way to win back the normies was to channel their inner unhinged TikTok teenager. They dropped this gem in response to Stephen Miller needling a Democratic Senate candidate in Texas:

"Shut up, you ugly f--k" @TheDemocrats wrote. 

How mature. The kind of sophisticated discourse that makes you wonder if the DNC's social media intern is still grounded for talking back to Mom.

For context, Miller had been having a grand old time on The Will Cain Show pointing out that Democrats in Texas had just made history by nominating their first transgender Senate candidate, or at least that's what it looked like based on the visuals. 

Miller's crime? Mocking the absurdity. The DNC's response? Immediate nuclear-level personal insult, because policy debates are for chumps. But the truth is, when you're personally attacked with name-calling, you won the fight.

Katie Miller, who clearly doesn't get paid enough to deal with this circus, didn't miss a beat. She went full scorched earth on the account's operator: "Paulina Mangubat is who runs the Democrats’ account. She’s 30, unmarried with no kids. Put your name on it next time," Miller said. "This is what a sad, unhappy female liberal looks like. It’s why Pew reports 50% of them have been diagnosed with a mental condition."

Wow, that's a full psychological profile with receipts. Somewhere in a D.C. apartment filled with empty wine bottles and therapy workbooks, Paulina is refreshing her mentions and wondering where it all went wrong.

This is the party that spent years lecturing America about civility, unity and healing. The party that cried when Trump was ‘mean’ on Twitter. This is who they really are. And they wonder why they keep losing," Benny Johnson said.

"The official Democratic Party," the Libs of TikTok wrote in its own post, highlighting the spat."I'm sure this will get the votes you need," conservative radio host Dana Loesch posted on X."Hilarious these are the same people that complain about Trump being mean," conservative influencer Caleb Hull posted on X.

"This is where the median Democratic staffer's comms instincts are," Manhattan Institute VP Jesse Arm posted on X.

The greatest hits just kept coming. It's like the entire conservative internet showed up with popcorn to watch the Democrats live-tweet their nervous breakdown.

The target of the original Miller needle, James Talarico's campaign, responded by diagnosing everyone with "Talarico Derangement Syndrome." Cute. Almost as original as their entire platform.

Even some Democrats couldn't stomach the slop. Lifelong Dem strategist Jack Appleby clutched his pearls harder than a vegan at a steakhouse:

"As a lifelong Dem who’s donated free consulting to House Dem staffers, I find this so, so embarrassing for us. We complain about the right’s behavior, and now we’re doing stuff like this? Come on, Democrats. Do better."

Bless his heart. Someone get Jack a safe space and a participation trophy before the rest of the party excommunicates him for noticing.

This isn't an isolated brain fart—it's the new DNC brand strategy. Gov. Gavin Newsom's rapid response account has been telling critics to "f--- off" with the frequency of a sailor on shore leave. Apparently "aggressive and edgy" is what the kids are calling "completely unhinged and politically suicidal" these days.

The party that once clutched pearls over mean tweets has now devolved into the political equivalent of a drunk aunt screaming at the Thanksgiving table. And they're somehow shocked that normal Americans keep looking at this mess and saying, "Yeah, we're good, thanks."

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James Talarico just got "Trumped" bigly

President Trump just delivered a masterclass in political savagery, torching Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico and his parade of bizarre beliefs on gender, Christianity, and, of all things, meat.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, Trump was asked if he planned to endorse in the upcoming Texas Republican Senate primary runoff on May 26. While he held off on picking sides for now, the president made one thing crystal clear: whoever emerges from the GOP side is going to steamroll this guy.

“I do believe either one of them will easily win this race,” Trump said.

Then came the hammer.

“I think the Democrats have a weird, a weird candidate,” Trump continued. “Six genders, a real hit on Jesus. I mean, this guy is bad news with his mask from relatively recently, and he's a vegan. He's a vegan. All of a sudden he's not a vegan. He was a vegan. Now all of a sudden he's not. Texas doesn't like vegans.”

Trump wasn’t done. He called Talarico “a pathetic candidate, especially for Texas.”And you have to admit, it’s hard to argue with that assessment.

Talarico has been catching absolute hell ever since he clinched the Democratic nomination. Between his greatest hits on gender ideology and his weirdly hostile posture toward Christianity, voters are left wondering if this guy belongs on the campaign trail or in a padded room.

Back in a 2021 Texas House hearing on transgender athletes in sports, Talarico dropped this gem: “modern science obviously recognizes that there are many more than two biological sexes” and that “in fact, there are six.” He even trotted out differing X and Y chromosome patterns as proof of his so-called “six really common biological sexes.”

Classic. In the world of the modern left, basic biology is apparently up for debate, but don’t you dare question their feelings. Texas voters aren’t buying it, and Trump just made sure the entire country knows exactly how ridiculous this candidate is.

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Can an old commie flip Texas? Dems unleash a secret weapon to loosen up the state: a 900-Year-Old guy from Vahmont

AUSTIN, TX—In a desperate bid to halt the unstoppable Trump juggernaut and claw back at least one chamber of Congress, Democrats have set their sights on mission impossible: flipping Texas. With redistricting proving to be yet another catastrophic L for the party of joy and vibes, party strategists have reportedly concluded that the only thing standing between them and total irrelevance is . . .  dusting off Bernie Sanders.

Yes, that Bernie Sanders; the guy who honeymooned in Russia and in late 2016 to 2017, after his book royalties made him a millionaire, stopped using his familiar phrase "millionaires and billionaires and dropped the "millionaires" from his Brooklyn accent vocabulary when addressing wealth inequality. 

Hypocrisy much?

State Democrats took to social media this week to teasingly post a mysterious silhouetted figure who will address the Texas Democratic Convention in June. Political analysts, after squinting at the image for three seconds, confirmed what everyone already knew: it’s the same wild-haired, finger-wagging socialist who’s been cosplaying as a revolutionary since the Coolidge administration.

The move comes as Democrats rally behind Senate candidate James Talarico, a man so far left he makes Karl Marx look like a Heritage Foundation intern. Republicans have gleefully pointed out Talarico’s greatest hits on open borders, gender theology, sneering at Christianity, and enthusiastic support for abortion up to and including the college graduation ceremony. Now, with Bernie Sanders, fresh off endorsing race-communist Zohran Mamdani in New York, riding shotgun to pump up the base, experts agree: this is exactly the moderate, relatable messaging deep-red Texans have been craving.

“He’s a man of the people,” said one Texas Democrat strategist, while quietly updating his résumé for a think tank job in Virginia. “Bernie’s authenticity will really resonate with ranchers in Lubbock and oil workers in Midland. Just wait until they hear about the free college and wealth taxes!”

Talarico, with full Bernie endorsement energy, will go on to face either Sen. John Cornyn or Texas AG Ken Paxton in November, in what insiders are already calling “the most normal election Texas has ever seen.”

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Jimmy Talarico refers to Jesus as a "barefoot rabbi" demands federal land leases for abortion in video

Texas state Rep. James Talarico, who recently won the Democratic [leftist] nomination for U.S. Senate, once advocated for federal land leases to abortion providers and referred to Jesus as a “barefoot rabbi,” a phrase that appears on his Senate campaign site. 

In a 2022 address delivered at the Texas Democratic [leftist] Convention in Dallas, Talarico, a Presbyterian seminary student and former public school teacher, blended personal stories of resilience with a forceful call for Democrats to confront what he described as an existential threat to democracy. He invoked his experiences teaching on San Antonio’s West Side, his mother’s escape from domestic abuse, and Texas Democratic icons to urge aggressive action against “Trumpism” and “fascism.”

Talarico lambasted national Democratic leaders at the time for what he called a lack of resolve in contrast with Texas Democrats’ scrappiness, exemplified by political figures like former President Lyndon Baines Johnson, state Sens. Barbara Jordan and Wendy Davis, and former U.S. Rep. Robert 'Beto' O’Rourke.

“The Democratic Party is the only thing standing between this country and fascism, yet the most our national party leaders can muster is spineless talking points and soulless fundraising emails,” he said. “National Democrats, you know, the ones who fly into Texas to fundraise and then don’t spend a penny of that money in our state. They don’t know how to fight.”

He urged then-President Joe Biden, whom he said “saved our nation” from President Donald Trump following the 2020 election, to once and for all 'restore its soul by defeating Trumpism.' “We need you and our nation’s leaders to start using every tool in the toolbox to protect our freedom. Lease federal land to abortion providers, declare a public health emergency, impeach justices who lied under oath, prosecute Trump and his fellow insurrectionists, and finally, call the filibuster what it is, a Jim Crow relic that’s standing between the American people and cheap prescription drugs, universal pre-K and a livable planet.”

In his speech, Talarico framed the political fight in explicitly Christian terms, referring to Jesus as “a barefoot rabbi” who gave two commandments: love God and love neighbor. A review by The Christian Post of Talarico’s campaign website found additional references to Jesus as a “barefoot rabbi.”

CP reached out to Talarico’s campaign for comment on Tuesday.

The 2022 speech, which Talarico has echoed in his current Senate campaign materials emphasizing a “top versus bottom” divide and the need to “flip tables” of injustice, has resurfaced following his victory over U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), in the March 3 Democratic primary. He now awaits the winner of the May 26 Republican runoff between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton.

In a March 13 interview on Fox News’ “The Brian Kilmeade Show,” Trump took aim at Talarico’s campaign, calling the candidate “whacked out with his six different forms of gender.” The president appeared to refer to a 2021 statement by Talarico in which he said God is “both masculine, feminine and everything in between.”

Calling Talarico’s statement an “insult to Jesus,” Trump added, “He is so woke. He’s beyond woke. … When you see what this guy said about gender and about other topics …” While Trump has backed off an earlier pledge to endorse in the May 3 runoff vote between Cornyn and Paxton, he called Talarico’s defeat of Crockett “good news” for either candidate.

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Jasmine Crockett loses primary but there's still bad news

Rep. Jasmine Crocket (D-TX) lost her bid for a Senate seat to State Senator James Talarico (D-TX) however, the bad news is that she still has a seat in the US House of Representatives and will not go easy into the night.

With over 90 percent of the vote counted, Talarico got 53 percent of the vote while Crockett got 45.7 percent as of 5 p.m. Wednesday.

"Tonight, our campaign is shocking the nation," Talarico said Tuesday night. "We are still waiting for an official call, but we are confident in this movement we've built together. Every vote must be counted, every voice must be heard. The voter suppression in my home county and in Congresswoman Crockett's home county underscores the gravity of this moment. This movement is about whether the people will hold the power in this state and in this country."

Crockett outperformed in Dallas and Houston areas while Talarico kicked butt in Travis County, an area with more than 200 thousand voters. It was there that Talarico got 76 percent of the Democratic vote.

There appeared to be irregularities in Dallas and Williamson county which both Talarico and Crockett acknowledged. County-wide voting locations were closed and only neighborhood sites were open, which left many voters confused and struggling on Election Day.

“I can tell you now that people have been disenfranchised,” Crockett said, using the polysyllabic word to a group of supporters Tuesday night.

Crockett is from Dallas. With 71% of the votes counted in Dallas County Wednesday morning, Crocket won the region with 59% of the vote.

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