Behind the Seminary Smile, Gentle Demeanor: Takeaways From Talarico’s CNN Town Hall
Voters would be wise to remember that Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger also campaigned as a moderate Democrat.
Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico took direct questions from voters during a town hall CNN and Jubilee hosted Wednesday night.
The state representative and Presbyterian seminarian came across as kind, polite, deeply sympathetic, and eternally reasonable. The problem, at least for me, was that his performance felt more rehearsed than spontaneous. Talarico seemed to be channeling Norman Bates from “Psycho,” adopting a mild-mannered, seemingly innocuous persona that belied his well-documented history of radical positions.
But even with his carefully chosen words, he still hit a few discordant notes. The most jarring came during an exchange with a pro-life Catholic voter who was concerned about his support for abortion. He said he was “really, really grateful” for the question. Please.
He patronized her by calling pro-life figures such as Pope Francis and Pope Leo “some of his spiritual heroes.” He continued:
And so I can respect anyone, like you, who is consistently pro-life. And I actually think there’s common ground we can find here. We may come to different moral and ethical conclusions when it comes to the question of should abortion be legal or not. It sounds like you and I do come to a different conclusion.
Then came this jaw-dropping declaration:
That’s OK. You know, we’re both Christians and — and the Bible is silent on the issue of abortion. It means you and I both have to look at — at different scriptures to try to come to a conclusion.
But the quick-witted woman reminded him of one of the Ten Commandments: “Thou shall not kill.”
The Bible is not silent on abortion. There is the Ten Commandments. Though shalt not kill, and as Catholics, we take great insult when it’s spouted that way.
The audience applauded.
This is fantastic. A Catholic woman calls out Talarico on abortion:
Talarico: "The Bible is silent on the issue of abortion."
Woman: "The Bible is not silent on abortion. There is the Ten Commandments. Though shalt not kill, and as Catholics, we take great insult when it's… pic.twitter.com/RNs3rkVHSE
— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) October 15, 2026
Next came a rabbi from Dallas, the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. “Hi Holly, I’m so glad you’re here,” Talarico gushed. “My aunt’s [pronounced ant’s] name is Holly!”
She said she was concerned about his stance on Israel as well as his support for the Jewish people.
After thanking her for “askin” that question, he expressed his “deep love and respect for the Jewish people” and “the Jewish scriptures.” He noted that he’d spent a year in seminary school studying the scriptures from a local rabbi. He explained how valuable that experience was for him.
He said he has stood up for Jewish leaders against antisemitism. In fact, he has stood against hate in all its forms. And that includes Christian nationalism, “because I don’t think there’s anything Christian about Christian nationalism.”
He babbled on about nonsense for another minute, forcing the rabbi to ask her question again.
He said, smiling, that he’s always very careful to make sure his criticisms are directed toward Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Turning more serious, and reminding me a bit of former President Barack Obama, he offered the rabbi a “light” version of Hamas talking points:
As a former teacher, seeing the death and destruction in Gaza, seeing what’s happening to children in particular, makes me sick to my stomach.
I know that October 7 was the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust, and I believe that Israel … has the right to defend its people. But I don’t believe that Benjamin Netanyahu has the right to wage war against civilians, or use collective punishment, or restrict aid.
…
After the rabbi pushed back, he pivoted to his hope for a two-state solution — an outcome that pro-Palestinians recently admitted was a fiction, because they’re looking for a one-state solution that excludes Israel.
At any rate, his earnest delivery seemed to satisfy the rabbi, at least outwardly.
Rabbi Holly asks Talarico about stance on Israel. Talarico proceeds to do some light glazing before parroting Hamas talking points to the rabbi. pic.twitter.com/jEeaijDxU3
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) October 15, 2026
Asked by a 22-year Navy veteran if he supports the SAVE America Act, Talarico’s reply strained credulity: “I honestly have to read the details of the legislation. I’m a policy wonk, and so I always hesitate to say I’m going to support any one bill if I haven’t read the final version of that bill.”
Talarico is indeed familiar with this bill. He has publicly expressed his opposition to it.
During a post-town hall panel, CNN’s Scott Jennings played a clip of Talarico “trashing” the SAVE Act just two months ago, claiming it would “rob voters, particularly black voters” of their “God-given right” to vote.
Jennings said, “What I learned about Talarico in that moment [speaking to the Navy veteran], is that he has trouble looking someone in the eye he knows disagrees with him, and just saying, ‘You know what, you and I are going to have to agree to disagree on this.'”
That’s a true statement. Talarico does have trouble with eye contact when he’s lying.
Jennings added, “He lied to that veteran. He is more slippery than a wet panther.”
James Talarico won't commit to supporting the SAVE America Act which ensures only American citizens are voting in elections.
Talarico previously admitted he "opposes voter ID." pic.twitter.com/HlHwXZvF8X
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 15, 2026
James Talarico looked a 22 year Navy veteran in the eye last night and straight up LIED to him about the SAVE Act. He doesn’t support it. He doesn’t support voter ID. Dude is more slippery than a wet panther. pic.twitter.com/o37MSJvcXX
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) October 15, 2026
During an exchange on transgender surgeries for minors, Talarico claimed his positions had been misrepresented due to “the silliness of a political campaign.” He added that “lies are going to be spread because they want to score political points.”
He needn’t have bothered because the voter who raised the question was in full agreement with Talarico, portraying it as “essentially a non-issue” that only affected .002% of the population. Why, it was almost as if CNN had handpicked him ahead of time.
🚨 BREAKING: James Talarico's big CNN town hall answer on child gender surgeries was to call it "the silliness of a political campaign."
Talarico: "Lies are going to be spread because they want to score political points."
Then a voter in the room called gender surgeries on… pic.twitter.com/tTBMw6AKeQ
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) October 15, 2026
During another exchange, Talarico declared, “I want to protect the good paying oil and gas jobs that support whole families.”
That pledge marked a complete reversal from his stance several years earlier, when he insisted, “You can’t call yourself a Christian and destroy God’s creation with greenhouse gases.”
James Talarico is a liar who wants to DESTROY Texas oil and gas.
TONIGHT: "I want to protect the good paying oil and gas jobs that support whole families."
A FEW YEARS AGO: "You can't call yourself a Christian and destroy God's creation with greenhouse gases." pic.twitter.com/CiT8E6nst9
— Senate Republicans (@NRSC) October 15, 2026
Talarico clearly wants Texans to mistake his reassuring, folksy manner for moderation. But a gentle voice does not erase a radical record. His town hall performance looked less like a move toward the center than an exercise in telling his audience what it wanted to hear.
Voters would be wise to remember that Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger also campaigned as a moderate Democrat. But once she took office, her far-left agenda told a different story.
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Comments
Talarico’s lies over the campaign shows he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. We will shortly see if he has fooled the Texans.
he campaigns like Barak H Oloser minus the tan
Oloser. Such a loser he held the presidency for eight years.
What a sniveling, gaslighting punk @ss bit*h.
Behind the Seminary Smile
That’s not a seminary smile! It’s a sniveling, gaslighting punk @ss bit*h smile.
Didn’t you two have a band a few years ago?
He’s got a punchable face.
What a great description! 😁
He’s as phony as a three dollar bill.
I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a person who is phonier than this phony baloney, fake, bogus, insincere, hypocritical, feigned, counterfeit, sham of an individual.
Obama lite
Beto 2
I read your comment and thought it was guyjones, with all of this interesting, well-chosen, expressive, meaningful and witty adjectives.
;-{)}}
Where did guyjones disappear to anyway? He seemed rather upset by one of my comments in the 16,070 ICE detainers article. I wanted to make sure he saw my response.
I see him over at Powerline quite a bit.
The dude isn’t gonna win the Senate race in TX. It is possible that Paxton could lose it though if too many fair weather, rino country club, chamber of commerce, sorts are too busy clutching pearls to show up and vote. Unfortunately there’s a large segment of the center/right coalition who are still butthurt their day has passed and they ain’t above throwing sand in the gears to stop the engines.
I just went to the Williamson county Republican Party headquarters in Texas
Everyone there was depressed and believe Talarico is probably going to win.
They say they can’t get people to make phone calls, walk the neighborhoods, etc.
It was like being in a more
I have to say they really pissed
Me off. I e tried to
Volunteer many times, nobody calls me back. Show some spirt, get on the street corners, make easy cheap flyers pros and cons .
It was depressing.
Out of 1100 houses in my neighborhood, about 100 talarico signs are up and zero Paxton.
It gets worse each election as Austin has moved out and California moved in. Even more signs than. To.
Now I believe people don’t put republican signs up because they don’t want their cars keyed, I’m the opt one in the neighborhood that has signs out. Only one, some, one out of 1100.
I’m
Not giving up, I’m decorating my electric bike with Paxton and Abbott signs and riding the neighborhood everyday.
I’ll try to tie into their antiquated call system.
When I was a democratic, the election hubs were always hoping, busy, full of people and food
This was so depressing to be around these people.
This was so depressing to be around these people.
______________________________________________
austin has been depressing since the ’80’s–so many transplants without an inkling what makes our state what it is–talarico is another slick grifter like o’rourke (and o’rourke lost twice)
You definitely shouldn’t let the poor attitude of the deceptacons impact you. I’m convinced that many of them would rather lose (and assist in the loss) than to support non establishment candidates like Paxton.
I wouldn’t get too hung up on yard signs as ‘the’ or even ‘a’ predictor of support. There’s way more effective methods of candidate messaging/name recognition in the internet age. I lived in El Paso for a decade on the west side which is the ‘conservative’ aka money side of town. Hardly anyone put up signs but every election our precinct overwhelmingly voted for GoP candidates. I suspect searching for obvious support for Paxton in Austin is a lost cause.
One drawback of center/right is that by nature we’re not ‘joiners’. The d/prog continue to enjoy a built in organizational advantage from public/private sector unions. Add ‘student activists’ and lefty church congregations to that. Not to mention most folks on the center/right have jobs/family to prioritize. They’ve got real world responsibilities competing for their time and attention during the campaign but generally will show up on election day.
Typical hip, slick bullshitter politico. Just like the empty suit Obama. He and his ilk are why i’ve voted for Trump 3 times. PDT may not always make the best decisions, but he mostly keeps his promises and tells it like it is.
Talafreako is another phony beto o’jerk….. Keep throwin em out demon-o-crats…. And watch em crash and burn!
All politicians lie.
The difference between Trump’s lies and the Democrats’ lies is that the size and impact of the latter are orders of magnitude worse than the former.
“their “God-given right” to vote”
Really? What an idiot.
Apparently, God gave me a right to vote, but only in Arizona. Actually, only in one county in Arizona. I’m not sure how he did that, I can’t find the paperwork.
One of the reasons I dislike Cornyn so much is that he has refused to help Paxton in this race. For decades we have been told to ‘suck it up’ and support McCain, Romney and the ilk because they are ‘Republicans’, when in fact they are actually demorinos. Our church has been very clear on the need to vote this election, (but unlike the Democrat churches, they have not had the ‘rats in to preach).
I attended a Christian college and I simply cannot fathom some of the positions Talarico has taken, especially about there being more than one way to heaven, (selling out to the islamists). When Christ said that ‘no one comes to the Father except through him, I believe that statement shut that ‘all roads lead to heaven’ lie. The Bible is very clear about marriage, the sanctity of life and the fact that we are indeed made in our Creator’s image, male and female. If what Talarico is spouting is what he learned in seminary, they are not teaching the truth in the scripture.
St John Paul II said that there is more than one way to Heaven, and that people who follow other religions can achieve salvation.
Not exactly. He maintained that ‘Jesus was the way to heaven for all men and women’. The ‘many paths’ was about each person’s personal journey TO redemption via acceptance of Christ and by that exercise of faith achieving Communion with God aka heaven. IOW a person might have been a believer of another faith all their life BUT if they genuinely accept Christ and his sacrifice in the last moments they can also achieve redemption. Many people including Christians struggle with that aspect of Christianity including me. It doesn’t seem fair.
What Jon Paul II was saying is a core concept of Christianity; you don’t have to have been born/raised in the Church and been an adherent throughout all your life. That is mere ‘works’. Being a good person, law abiding citizen, dedicated to your family, volunteer/tithe, live according to the teachings of the Church… none of that matters. It’s a nice extra and one should try to do that but it won’t get you into heaven. In every faithful Christian denomination teaching (not the woke) that is reserve for the simple act of Faith in accepting Christ as the redemption.
In sum John 14:6 ‘No man comes to the Father but through me’ still holds. As does Romans 6:23 ‘…eternal life in Christ our Lord’ and Matthew 7:13-14 ‘Enter through the small gate…for wide is .gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction ..but small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to Life and only a few find it’
A good secular analogy would be Glengary Glen Ross. The scene where Baldwin confronts the sales staff and tells them basically nothing else matters except getting buyers to ‘sign on the line which is dotted’. That is it, that’s their secular ‘salvation’ to keep their jobs. ‘Good Family man, take care of your kids? I don’t care.’ They gotta go close sales or be fired.
That Catholic woman is a Christian but Talarico is a heretic.
We are in a sad state when a complete moron like him can garner more than ten votes…God help us all; the stupidity of the American democrat voter is altogether astounding and devastating.
Quote: “essentially a non-issue” that only affected .002% of the population. Close Quote
Unless the trans “girl” (whatever a “girl” might turn out to be) competes against “birthing people with XX chromosomes.”
Then, trans surgery, or even identity, affects entire sports competitions.
This guy gives me the creeps.
He gives off a “youth minister” vibe. And, I don’t mean that as a compliment.
Me too, because he is VERY creepy. Come on TX. Do the right thing.
Talarico reminds me of obama, all talk and bullshit
I must make a correction to the statement on the Commandment, it is not “kill” is “murder”. Thou shall not commit murder. The original Hebrew and Greek words for kill and murder are different for both words.
Come on, that’s a blatant example of begging the question. Reasoning in a circle.
Using exactly the same classic fallacy, I can prove that the Bible forbids putting pineapple on a pizza. Deuteronomy 14:3 says “Do not eat anything disgusting”. Pineapple on pizza is disgusting, so that’s what the verse means. Never mind that neither pineapples nor pizza were known when Deuteronomy was written.
Talarico is 100% correct. The Bible, at least if you read it literally, is silent on abortion. Deriving an anti-abortion position from it requires interpretation, such as the traditional exegesis of Genesis 9:6 as “whoever sheds the blood of a person inside a person, his blood shall be shed”. Now that is not the literal meaning of the verse. It shifts the comma. But it is the classical source for the prohibition of abortion.
While there may not be a specific prohibition on a modern abortion procedure I’m pretty sure I could find all sorts of passages telling the faithful to:
Protect the innocent, succor children, show mercy, act with humility, defend the weak, act justly/seek justice (which isn’t = to obeying statutes/pettifogging lawfare) among other general admonitions of correct behavior.
IOW no rational person believes that within the Christian Biblical teachings that abortion is approved/supported and not prohibited by general admonitions of what is correct behavior/actions.