President Trump calls for removal of lawmakers obsessed with Epstein
Donald Trump labeled Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie a “weak, pathetic RINO” and called for his removal from office in a fiery post on Truth Social.
Unbranded – Newsworthy
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has unleashed a barrage of insults and attacks against Texas Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico, but declined to say which Republican candidate he will support in the state’s upcoming Republican runoff elections.
“I think the Democratic Party has a strange, strange candidate,” President Trump told reporters on Air Force One on May 15, upon returning to Washington from China. “Six genders. Really attacking Jesus. So this guy is bad news. He’s only been wearing a mask relatively recently. And he’s vegan. He’s vegan. All of a sudden he’s not vegan anymore. He’s vegan.”
Trump added, “Texas doesn’t like vegans.”
Trump’s comments echoed some of the attacks the 36-year-old Texas congressman made against Talarico in a March 22 Truth Social post after he won the Democratic nomination for the Texas Senate earlier that month.
But Trump was not asked about Talarico by reporters when he made his latest comments. A reporter asked the president whether he would support Republican incumbent Sen. John Cornyn or his challenger, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, in the May 26 Republican primary runoff.
Trump told Talarico, “I don’t want to say that. I think very strongly about it. I like both.”
Mr. Trump has passed on supporting Mr. Cornyn in the primary, even though polls show Mr. Talarico doing slightly better in a hypothetical showdown with Mr. Paxton, who was impeached by the Texas House in 2023 on bribery charges and recently accused of infidelity by his wife. Paxton is widely seen as more popular among President Trump’s MAGA base.
Talarico’s camp did not respond to requests for comment.
Republicans have sought to paint Talarico as a radical liberal who leans too far to the left to represent Texas.
President Trump’s “six genders” comment was a reference to remarks Talarico made before a Texas House committee during consideration of a bill that would require student-athletes to play sports according to the gender on their birth certificate. “Modern science clearly recognizes that there are far more than two biological sexes. In fact, there are six. Honestly, Congressman Hefner, this surprised me too,” Talarico said.
Republicans have accused Talarico of being a vegan in a state known for its barbecue brisket. The attack stemmed from Talarico’s pledge to animal rights activists to run a “no-meat campaign” and only buy vegan products in the run-up to his 2022 re-election to the House of Representatives. Talarico denied the accusations and responded in March by posting a photo of himself eating a giant turkey leg.
President Trump’s “yes” statement is likely a reference to Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian who has made Christian beliefs and values central to his political identity.
Talarico received a boost from former President Barack Obama on the campaign trail this week and could be in a position to become one of the nation’s youngest Democratic stars if he can accomplish what so many have tried and failed to do: turn Texas blue in the Senate. No Democrat has won a statewide election in Texas since 1994.
Polls conducted April 17-20 by the nonpartisan Texas Poll show Talarico leading both Republicans, with a 44% to 41% lead over Cornyn and a 46% to 41% lead over Paxton.
X Contact Joey Garrison at @joeygarrison.
