President Donald Trump launched another round of attacks on Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico during his final rally in the state Tuesday night, claiming that Talarico believes Jesus would support gender-transition procedures.
Trump held back-to-back rallies in Corpus Christi and Lubbock in a last-minute effort to boost Talarico’s Republican opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is trailing or tied with the Democrat in most polls.
At both events, Trump played a video produced by the Paxton campaign featuring controversial remarks from Talarico about God being “non-binary” and expressing support for transgender people.
“Not only did Talafreako state that God is transgender, he actually said that if Jesus Christ himself came and visited the Texas legislature, Jesus would be promoting sex changes for little children,” Trump said during the Lubbock rally.
Talarico’s support for transgender rights has become a central line of attack in the closely watched Texas Senate contest.
Talarico, who is studying at a seminary, previously said that if Jesus visited the Texas legislature, he “would tell us blessed are the trans children who were bullied.”
Trump also accused “Talafreako,” his nickname for Talarico, of wanting to take away Texans’ guns.
“He wants to get rid of your oil. Wants to get rid of your meat. He can’t stand the stuff,” Trump added.
President Donald Trump launched another attack on Democratic Texas Senate candidate and state House Representative James Talarico during his final Texas rally Tuesday night
At the rally, President Donald Trump played a video from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Senate campaign showing Democratic candidate James Talarico saying that “God is non-binary” and making other pro-transgender comments
Paxton has also portrayed Talarico as a “vegan,” despite the Democrat eating meat, citing comments in which Talarico discussed reducing meat consumption.
Trump told the Texas crowds that he enjoys meat so much that he had previously mispronounced the word “vegan.”
“I used to say vay-gan, but my wife said it’s not vay-gan, it’s vegan,” Trump said Tuesday night.
Paxton used his own appearance to encourage Texans to support him, suggesting that Trump could one day make Lubbock his home.
“You know, I know the President is the leader of the free world, and he’s our leader, but occasionally we have good ideas in Texas, don’t you think?” Paxton told the crowd.
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“So I have actually, I have a suggestion for him. So I know he has kind of two houses right now, one in the White House and one in Florida, but someday, he might need a second home. What do you think if he moves to Lubbock, Texas?” Paxton asked.
The crowd responded with cheers.
“I think you guys like that idea,” Paxton added.
Republican Senate candidate and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, left, shakes hands with a young rally attendee during Trump’s rally in Lubbock on Tuesday night
Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz stands to be recognized during Trump’s rally in Lubbock on Tuesday night
Paxton later emphasized the potential importance of West Texas, which he described as the most Republican-leaning region of the state.
Trump has focused his campaign appearances this cycle on more conservative areas in an effort to mobilize the MAGA base rather than attract crossover Democrats and moderate voters.
Explaining his decision to campaign for Paxton in Lubbock, Trump said, “If he were lousy, I could be in other places.”
Later, while retelling a story about admiring the backside of Ohio Senator Jon Husted, Trump joked that he could do the same with Paxton.
“But I made the mistake of studying his anatomy and explaining it to the audience, and the audience loved it. By the way, he went up 12 points that day. He went from being down to being up,” Trump said.
“Maybe I should do that with Ken Paxton, but I’m not sure your body is going to qualify,” Trump added.
Paxton’s campaign has been weighed down by earlier corruption scandals, including his 2023 impeachment and a highly publicized separation from his wife following two alleged affairs.
Trump nevertheless endorsed Paxton, who is more closely aligned with the MAGA movement, over incumbent Republican Senator John Cornyn in the GOP primary.
“If we lose this thing, it could be a disaster,” Trump said. “And they spent hundreds of millions of dollars on him.”
“All lies,” the President added.
