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Resurfaced James Talarico interview puts his views on US democracy back into the Texas race
The Texas Democratic Senate nominee is facing renewed scrutiny over 2024 remarks describing the United States as backsliding on democracy. His campaign said he still sees America as the greatest country in the world.
A 2024 interview with James Talarico, now the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Texas, has resurfaced online and reopened a line of attack in the campaign.
Fox News Politics reported that, during a June 2, 2024 appearance on The Weekend Show on the MeidasTouch Network, Talarico said the United States had not fully lived up to the promise of democracy and was moving backward in that area. In the same interview, he suggested Americans could look to countries in Western Europe for inspiration.
The clip drew new attention on social media this week. Among the reactions, Elon Musk answered with a one-word rejection, according to the outlet.
Asked by Fox News Digital about the comments, Talarico’s campaign stood by them. Spokesperson JT Ennis said the candidate agrees with most Texans that America is the greatest country in the world, Texas is the greatest state in the union, and the country should always strive for a more perfect union.
Fox News Politics said Republicans have repeatedly highlighted other past remarks by Talarico during the race, including comments about Christianity, God and biological sex. His campaign had previously answered that he is a devout Christian and that his criticism is aimed at what he sees as the misuse of Christianity to justify hate, violence and greed.
The outlet also noted that in July the conservative political action committee Lone Star Liberty criticized him after he described the American flag as a complicated symbol. At that time, his campaign replied that Talarico believes the flag stands for freedom, opportunity and hope.
Talarico, a former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian, is running in the general election against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton after securing the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, Fox News Politics reported.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
