President Donald Trump returned to Texas on Tuesday and immediately revived his attacks against Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico. However, Democrats were quick to frame the personal insults as another distraction from Republican Ken Paxton’s record and the issues affecting Texas families.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Corpus Christi, Trump opened by deliberately mangling Talarico’s name and labeling him a communist.
According to kristv News, he said, “Seven days from now, the people of Texas are going to defeat ‘Dumocrat’ communist James Talifreako,” Trump told the audience. The remark was followed by boos directed at the Democratic candidate.
Trump later claimed Talarico wanted to eliminate guns, oil, and even meat. He also repeated a peculiar accusation that the Democrat became sick after eating meat for political purposes. Talarico has previously denied being vegan, while his campaign said his recent absence was due to a diagnosed case of the flu.
Talarico Doesn’t Take the Bait
While Trump campaigned for Paxton in Corpus Christi and Lubbock, Talarico held competing events in Amarillo and Lubbock. Rather than respond directly to each nickname, the Democrat focused on corruption, wealthy political donors, and his campaign’s increasingly ambitious statewide push.
According to APNews “We’re going to shock the nation and shock the world when we beat the billionaires and take back Texas,” Talarico told supporters in Lubbock shortly after Trump finished speaking nearby.
The contrast was difficult to miss. Trump spent part of his closing pitch inventing names and making jokes about Talarico’s diet. Talarico responded by framing the contest as Texas voters against billionaires trying to buy political influence.
That messaging carries added weight because the Senate race has become unusually competitive. Democrats haven’t won a statewide Texas election in more than three decades, but Republicans are taking Talarico seriously enough that Trump has visited the state repeatedly during the campaign’s final stretch. The race has reportedly spent more than $563 million on advertising.
