Right-wing media are lobbing attacks at Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico, resorting to playground insults and seeking to define him as “unlikable,” “gay,” and “against meat.”
Research/Study
“Weird,” “vegan,” and “effeminate”: Right-wing media are attacking James Talarico based on lies and vibes
Right-wing pundits have resorted to calling Talarico disparaging nicknames like “Tofu Talarico,” “Tala-freak-o,” and “Beta O’Rourke”
Written by Gideon Taaffe & Sage Hodil
Research contributions from Jane Lee
Published
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James Talarico has been under attack from high profile Republicans over false claims and misrepresentations of his beliefs since winning the Democratic nomination for Senate
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- Following Talarico’s Democratic primary win earlier this year, right-wing media attacked his faith as a Presbyterian seminarian. MAGA pundits called Talarico and his discussions of Christianity “blasphemous,” “demonic,” and “completely insane.” [Media Matters, 3/5/26]
- President Donald Trump has also attacked Talarico, falsely claiming he was a vegan. Trump told reporters, “I mean, this guy is bad news. His masking from relatively recently. And he's a vegan. He's a vegan. All of a sudden he's not a vegan.” The claim stems from a 2022 clip from Talarico’s campaign for state House in which he said he was running a “non-meat” campaign by buying vegan products at campaign events. Talarico has repeatedly denied being a vegan and has posted evidence of him eating a turkey leg. [USA Today, 5/15/26; CNN, 5/25/26]
- Republicans have also baselessly insinuated that Talarico is a pedophile or transgender. An official Republican social media account posted a photo of Talarico with the caption, “Hide your kids.” Additionally, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller claimed, referring to Talarico, “The Democrats made history in Texas by nominating their first transgender senate candidate.” [Bluesky, 5/21/26; Them, 5/27/26]
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Right-wing media are falsely claiming Talarico is a vegan and mocking him as “weird”
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- War Room host Steve Bannon said Talarico “is a vegan who plays with dolls.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 5/27/26]
- The Charlie Kirk Show host Andrew Kolvet listed off nicknames for Talarico including “Tofu Talarico,” “Tala-freak-o,” and “soy boy.” Kolvet also said Talarico is “objectively very weird.” [Real America’s Voice, The Charlie Kirk Show, 5/27/26]
- Podcaster Tim Pool called Talarico a “vegan, woke, weird sex guy.” [YouTube, Timcast, 5/27/26]
- Right-wing radio host Scott Jennings attacked Talarico, saying, “Today, perhaps he has committed the most unforgivable sin that a candidate can commit in Texas: He has come out against meat.” Jennings then played the clip from 2022 of Talarico talking about his “non-meat” campaign and stated, “I don’t know a single male, in fact, who talks this way.” [Salem News Channel, The Scott Jennings Show, 3/18/26]
- Fox & Friends co-host Lawrence Jones attacked Talarico for being a vegan in Texas, saying, “The brisket capital of the world. Right. Unelectable.” Jones continued, “That's just like going to Texas and saying get rid of all the Whataburgers. It doesn't work. And, you know, if you want him at the top of the ticket, go for it.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 3/20/26]
- Fox News anchor Dana Perino said on The Five that Talarico is “against meat.” Fox News host Greg Gutfeld reacted to Talarico wearing a mask in 2022, saying, “He may not eat meat but he doesn't have any balls, that's for sure. What a pathetic individual.” [Fox News, The Five, 3/19/26]
- Podcast host Megyn Kelly called Talarico “weird and unlikable.” [SiriusXM, The Megyn Kelly Show, 5/20/26]
- On The Ingraham Angle, Fox News contributor Ben Domenech said, “James Talarico is, quite frankly, a gigantic weirdo and believes insane things.” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 5/26/26]
- Newsmax host Rob Finnerty claimed, “James Talarico is insane, and I mean that literally.” [Newsmax, Finnerty, 5/26/26]
- Jennings said of Talarico, “Democrats down there have nominated one of the biggest weirdos in America.” [Salem Radio Network, The Scott Jennings Show, 5/26/26]
- While discussing Democrats’ nomination of Talarico in Texas, Fox News host Charlie Hurt said Democrats are “doing everything they can to pick the weirdest people.” Hurt stated, “Don't nominate weird candidates to represent your party. That's all you have to do. And it's like they're doing everything they can to pick the weirdest people.” [Fox News, Hannity, 3/23/26]
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Right-wing media have questioned Talarico’s masculinity and sexuality
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- Daily Wire host Ben Shapiro said, “Talarico is the slightly more gay Pete Buttigieg.” [The Daily Wire, The Ben Shapiro Show, 5/20/26]
- Megyn Kelly said Talarico reminds her of “a little boy with an unusually mismatched deep voice.” She continued, “When you just listen to him, like the people listening to this on SiriusXM or on podcast, I think you would picture a much larger, more manly man. Then you see this guy, and it's like, don't you have, like, to get back to school for your PE class? Look at him. He's just like — he looks like — he needs to wear a tie too, and he's one of those politicians who should be praying that he goes prematurely gray just to be taken a little bit more seriously.” [SiriusXM, The Megyn Kelly Show, 5/27/26]
- On Fox News, podcaster Benny Johnson said Democrats have “given up on masculinity” and called Talarico an “effeminate, estrogenetic, catty, and totally embarrassing” candidate. Johnson also referred to Talarico as “Beta O’Rourke” and ranted: “This guy is the Dylan Mulvaney Bud Light ad of political campaigns. Clearly Michelle Obama has more testosterone than Talarico. James Talarico is a guy who could be played by Elliot Page in a new Christopher Nolan movie, or a Subaru ad.” [Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, 5/28/26]
- Newsmax host Carl Higbie referred to Talarico as “low T” and said he has “weird perverted” rhetoric regarding trans kids. Reacting to a clip in which Talarico said he loves trans children, Higbie lashed out: “You pervert. You disgusting, child mutilating freakshow of a human being.” [Newsmax, Carl Higbie Frontline, 5/25/26]
- On The Five, co-host Jesse Watters said “Tala-freak-o” looks “prepubescent” before joking, “Yes, a gay vegan is definitely going to win in Texas.” Fox contributor Lisa Kennedy Montgomery called Talarico a “baby lotion soft child” and a “beta male,” saying he looks “prepubescent” and that he “put the semen in seminarian.” [Fox News, The Five, 5/27/26]