James Talarico on Morning Joe — Full Interview

[0:00] Let's bring in Texas state representative and Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, [0:05] James Tallarico. It's very good to have you on the show. Obviously, there are so many questions [0:11] about these two latest ICE shootings and the overall deadly and dangerous deportation tactics [0:18] on the part of this administration. At the same time, I'm curious, do you believe there should be [0:24] a robust immigration policy and border security? Absolutely. You know, we're on our frontera [0:31] tour going from El Paso, Texas to the Rio Grande Valley, 750 miles along our Texas-Mexico border. [0:39] We're talking about common sense border security. We had Republican and Democratic border sheriffs [0:46] joining together to support our bipartisan common sense border security plan. And I've also been [0:52] talking about these ICE killings. In El Paso, I talked about Lorenzo Salgado, who raised three [1:00] boys who all went to college. You saw two of them there, a public school teacher and an engineer. [1:06] He embodied the American dream, and he was murdered after living in our state for 35 years. [1:12] Two days after I talked about Lorenzo Salgado, we saw another killing in Maine, and a three-year-old [1:19] girl watched her father killed before her eyes. And so we need an independent investigation of [1:27] these killings. We have to protect our immigrant neighbors while also securing our southern border [1:33] with common sense policies like more border patrol agents, more surveillance technology, [1:38] and more immigration judges, not this crazy border wall through the Big Bend National Park here in Texas. [1:45] So that's what we're talking about. And I think it's resonating with people across the state and [1:49] across the political spectrum. So you would agree the Democrats made a big mistake in 2021, [1:56] 22, 23, not focusing enough on border security, right? Absolutely. And I've called out President [2:04] Biden and his administration for failing to secure our southern border. I remember talking to my [2:09] colleagues in the state house who represent border communities, and they were telling me about the utter [2:14] chaos along our southern border. And that's unacceptable. We need to be about making government [2:20] work for people. And this was a prime example of government not working for any of us. [2:26] Do you think Democrats other than you, do you think there are enough Democrats that understand [2:30] what a horrible mistake that was? When you look at the 2024 election results and you see all of those [2:37] counties along the border, all going red, or almost all of them going red, do you think Democrats [2:44] nationwide understand what you understand, that open borders is no solution? In fact, [2:52] it is a disaster, not only politically, but disaster for the communities, Hispanic communities along that [3:01] border. That's exactly right. You know, my family is from South Texas. My mom grew up in Laredo, [3:08] on our southern border. So border communities in Texas mean a lot to me personally. They mean a lot [3:13] to my family. And national Democrats took the border for granted. We stopped showing up there. [3:21] And that's why people along the southern border, it's why people in South Texas started looking for [3:26] alternatives. Republicans came to town and made big promises about, you know, common sense immigration [3:34] approach, lowering people's costs. But just a year into this administration, those promises [3:39] haven't been kept. And we've seen more extremism on immigration with these ice raids. We've seen this [3:45] crazy, useless border wall through Big Bend being proposed. When you already have a wall made by God [3:52] with cliffs and mountain ranges, much better than anything humans could build. And then you've also [3:58] seen costs skyrocketing for people along the border. You've seen these tariffs start to hurt small [4:06] businesses in the region. So folks are feeling really disillusioned. They feel like they've been let down [4:11] by both political parties. And it's why we're showing up. It's why we're listening and holding town halls [4:16] to rebuild some of that trust that's been lost. And I think we've seen folks along the border, folks in [4:23] South Texas joining this movement we're building. They're ready to finally have a senator who's going [4:28] to fight for them in Washington. You know, you look at the numbers, not only in Texas and Florida [4:35] and other states, and any gains Republicans made that Donald Trump made with Hispanic voters have [4:40] been completely wiped away because of the immigration policy. In fact, Donald Trump's strongest [4:46] policy has always been immigration. It's now, he's now even upside down on that issue. I'm curious. [4:52] And I just, I just put all of that out there because I'm not asking you this as a softball [5:01] question. I'm asking you this as somebody on the ground, knocking on doors every day, talking to [5:07] people every day, and sort of want you to be a reporter to Americans that are listening to you right [5:12] now. And explain the fear, explain the heartache, explain the pain that is going through the [5:22] Hispanic community, not only in Houston, but across all of Texas and all of America. [5:30] Yeah, you know, I've been traveling to every corner of Texas from El Paso to Beaumont, from [5:36] Amarillo to Brownsville. We've been holding all these events. And I've got so many young people [5:41] showing up at our town halls, at our rallies. Many of them say it's the first political event [5:47] they've ever attended. Many of them are Hispanic. And so many tell me that they're worried their [5:52] parents aren't going to come home at the end of the day. And these are, these are hardworking [5:57] neighbors who have been in our communities for years, for decades. The president promised to go [6:03] after the criminals. And that's something I support. We should be deporting murderers and rapists [6:09] and gang members. But that's not what's happening. I should be cracking down on the cartels, not our [6:15] communities. I should be deporting these violent criminals, not small business owners. They should [6:21] be hunting down human traffickers, not moms and babies. And I think that's what most Texans want out [6:29] of immigration and customs enforcement. They want to go after the threats to public safety, [6:33] not to the hardworking members of our community who have been contributing to our economy, [6:39] contributing to our state, who've been making us richer and stronger as immigrants have done [6:44] throughout American history. Representative Tallarico, thanks for being with us this morning. [6:48] Let's talk specifically about your race. Democrats are excited about your candidacy here, but they [6:54] also have that skepticism born of more than 30 years now of Democrats losing statewide in the state of [7:00] Texas. People have been saying for years now, Texas is on the brink of turning blue, and it always seems [7:05] to come up just short a couple of years ago. Colin Allred, a good candidate lost by just over eight [7:10] points to Senator Ted Cruz, though he did outperform Kamala Harris in the state of Texas. So the question [7:15] to you this morning for Democrats who may be watching, who are excited about you, why do you feel this time [7:21] is different in Texas? Why are you going to reverse the trend of the last 30 years of Texas, [7:26] always statewide going Republican? Is part of that, as John Cornyn would tell you, that you are facing a [7:34] uniquely corrupt candidate in Ken Paxton? You know, the first words out of my mouth when I launched [7:40] this campaign back in September of last year were that the real fight in this country is not left [7:46] versus right. It's top versus bottom. So, you know, my party talks about turning Texas blue. [7:52] The Republican Party talks about keeping Texas red. I honestly think the best color for Texas [7:58] is purple. I think she would look great in purple because what needs to happen is we have to end [8:04] this one-party rule. We need competition in our elections in Texas because when we have competitive [8:11] elections, all politicians, particularly those who have been bought by billionaire megadonors, [8:17] they have to stay on their toes. They have to try to serve all of us. And whether it's in red states [8:23] or blue states, one-party rule always leads to extremism and corruption because there's no [8:29] competition. Competition is good in business, it's good in sports, and it's good in politics. [8:35] And that's what we're trying to do. We are trying to take on the megadonors who can increasingly [8:40] control our politics, control our economy, and their puppet politicians who do their bidding in the [8:46] halls of power. And that's not really a partisan thing. Whether you're a little more conservative [8:51] or a little more progressive, we're all getting screwed. None of us can afford the basics, groceries, [8:56] gas, utilities, child care, prescription drugs, the things that we need to survive. [9:02] And so that's why we're bringing working people together across these partisan divides, [9:08] racial divides, cultural divides, so that we can take on the people at the top who have been screwing [9:12] us over for decades. Watching this race pretty closely, it's been notable that the criticism [9:18] of you from many Republicans, from the president all the way down to the grassroots level there in [9:23] Texas, about you has been personal. It has been cultural. It's been kind of, he's not one of us. [9:29] He doesn't have that Texas swagger. They talk about the fact that you're a vegan, which you have said [9:33] you are not. Things like that, like he's not Texas, which you were born and raised, correct me, [9:38] in Round Rock, Texas. You went to UT. Ken Paxton's from North Dakota and came to college in Texas. [9:43] Nothing wrong with that, but just stating the facts. How do you answer that kind of criticism [9:48] from those corners that say, I don't know, he doesn't walk and talk like a Texan. He might not [9:53] be one of us. Yeah, I think it's funny because I'm the eighth generation Texan in the race. As you [10:00] mentioned, Ken Paxton was born in North Dakota. He was raised in California. And I think California [10:05] transplants like Ken Paxton can become Texans. That's what's great about our state. You know, [10:10] Texas is a state of mind, as John Steinbeck wrote. And so I think what folks are hungry for [10:17] is a senator who's going to serve all Texans, regardless of our political party, [10:21] regardless of where we grew up, whether we've been here for eight generations or whether we just got [10:25] here, like Ken Paxton. And I think that's what we've got to focus on over the course of this [10:30] campaign. People want a senator who's going to bring both parties together to lower our costs. [10:35] And that's what I have a track record of doing. I've served for four terms [10:38] in the Texas legislature. I have passed 60 bipartisan bills with my Republican colleagues [10:44] in the statehouse, bills that cut property taxes, that raise teacher pay, that lower the cost of [10:50] housing and child care and prescription drugs, including insulin. And so I have a track record [10:55] of bringing down costs for working Texans. I think that's what folks are looking for, [11:00] not these divisive culture wars that have been pitting neighbor against neighbor for years now. [11:08] It's interesting. Ken Paxton says you're not Texan enough. He was born in North Dakota. He grew up in [11:19] California. South Texas. Celebrates Fourth of July in London. [11:25] Or Iceland. Or Iceland, wherever he was. I don't know where he was. [11:28] I'm curious, what French city did you spend? Were you in, like, he's in London or Iceland or wherever? [11:35] Were you in Paris? How did you spend, maybe Luxembourg? Where did you spend your Fourth of July? [11:42] So I actually spent Fourth of July with an American treasurer, Willie Nelson, in Austin at his annual Fourth [11:51] of July picnic, which was a real honor as a longtime fan of Willie Nelson. And, you know, [11:57] we celebrated 250 years of independence from the British. And Ken Paxton celebrated that important [12:05] anniversary with the British. So it was quite a choice. [12:09] So Ken Paxton's in Knightsbridge and you're with Willie on the Fourth of July. Okay. Check. I think you [12:20] in there. You know, I've always said that Donald Trump has succeeded by getting his opponents to act [12:29] outside of themselves and do really stupid things. I have noted your campaign is doing the same thing [12:38] to Republicans. You drive them crazy. I mean, you take, you take their obsession with low [12:46] testosterone levels. They are obsessed. [12:49] Ken Paxton is obsessed with low T and Pete Hegseth, obsessed with low T. [12:55] Pete Hegseth, obsessed with low T. Lieutenant Governor Patrick, actually, [12:59] let's take a look at him. He says, you're not manly enough to actually, this guy, this guy says, [13:08] this guy says, you're not manly enough to represent the people in Texas. And he's concerned [13:19] about your low T levels. And your manliness. Your manliness. [13:23] Oh, yeah. Is this a parody? Yeah. Tell us about, tell us about their obsession with low T. [13:34] Yeah. When I first heard this low T thing, I had to look it up. Guys my age aren't really worried about [13:40] that kind of thing. But I think people are, are really tired of this kind of professional wrestling [13:48] in our politics. These old guys who are lathered up in their fake tan, throwing these corny nicknames [13:55] at each other. People are, are wanting serious leaders who are going to get this economy back on [14:01] track, who are going to start to lower costs. We're going to start to raise pay. And people are catching [14:06] on to the fact that these corny nicknames don't lower the cost of groceries, don't lower the cost [14:12] of, of prescription drugs, don't lower the price of gas. And so people realize that we're being [14:17] played by these politicians who, who want to throw these nicknames at each other. And they're ready [14:22] for a serious Senator who's going to bring both parties together to get this economy back on track. [14:29] By the way, Tala Frico as a nickname, I'm all in. If somebody calls me Tala Frico, [14:33] I'm all in. If somebody calls me Tala Frico, I'm memeing that all the way to world favor. [14:36] I love that. And Joe. And Joe. And Joe. Yeah. [14:40] Well, I don't know if, if everyone knows this, but we've got, I'm a Tala Frico T-Shirts [14:45] available on our website. JamesTalaRico.com. Check it out and get your T-Shirt today. [14:52] I'll get you one. I mean, I mean, seriously, they, they, they, they, they are just playing into your hands. [14:57] I want to show a picture of this guy again, um, who's obsessed with low testosterone levels, [15:03] I guess, and says, you're not, oh my God, manly enough. Um, and, and, and I want to turn this a [15:09] little serious. This guy felt comfortable also judging your faith. This guy and others felt comfortable [15:22] saying you're going, that you're going to hell. Now, I find this absolutely fascinating that [15:28] somebody could be so ignorant of the gospels of Jesus Christ that they would make such a [15:36] proclamation in a political campaign, not even knowing that Jesus said, judge not that you be [15:43] not judged. Blessed are the merciful for they shall be shown mercy. The same, you know, by the measure [15:49] that you use for other people, I will use that measure against you. I mean, the fastest way to [15:55] hell, if you believe what Jesus Christ says is to be focused on the speck in your neighbor's eye [16:03] instead of the plank in your own. And yet again, they, they continue to attack your, your faith and [16:10] your relationship with Jesus Christ, which again, I, I not only find offensive, but I, I also find it [16:17] self-defeating because people that actually read the Bible that read the red letters understand [16:23] that is the last thing a Christian is supposed to do. Yeah, that's exactly right. You know, my granddad [16:29] was a Baptist preacher in South Texas in Laredo. And when I was real little, he told me that as [16:36] Christians, we're supposed to follow the two commandments that Jesus gave us to love God and [16:42] to love neighbor. That's it. Christianity is a simple religion. He would always tell me not an easy [16:48] religion because it's not always easy to love our neighbors, but it is a simple religion. And if we [16:53] can focus on those two commandments, if we can love our neighbors, not, not just our neighbors who look [16:58] like us, not just our neighbors who pray like us, not just our neighbors who vote like us, if we can [17:04] love all of our neighbors, including our enemies, that's when we are truly following that barefoot [17:10] rabbi from 2000 years ago. It's that commandment to love thy neighbor is what it got into public [17:17] service. It's why I became a public school teacher on the west side of San Antonio. It's [17:22] why I ran for the state house. It's why I've passed those 60 bipartisan bills to lower people's [17:27] costs. I'm trying to love my neighbor through public policy. I'm trying to make my neighbor's life [17:33] a little easier, a little better, a little less stressful. Yeah. And it feels like that kind of love [17:38] has been missing from our politics, from our public service for a long time now. And it really does feel [17:44] like in Texas, that message from 2000 years ago is still resonating with people today, [17:50] particularly today, given the divisive, corrosive politics we've all been suffering under for 10 [17:57] years now. Yeah. You know, and I don't want to get too deep into theology here, but there is something [18:04] really important that needs to be said based on what you just, you just mentioned, what your [18:09] your grandfather preacher told you. Jesus is very clear. All the laws, they all collapse into two [18:19] things. Love God, love your neighbor. And then, and this is, this is so important to explain, [18:25] I will say to my Republican friends who don't understand this, who may not have read the Bible, [18:31] but also people that, that, that want to understand more of like what's going on on the hard right, [18:37] how it's the antithesis of what Jesus preached. So Jesus said to the disciples, love God and love [18:42] your neighbor. Stiple said, oh, who's my neighbor? That's right. After Jesus said, love God, love your [18:48] neighbor. So what does Jesus say? He goes, let me tell you a story. And he tells the story of the good [18:54] Samaritan and tells how, how a man's beaten up. He's left on the side of the road. And all of his [19:01] friends, all of his neighbors, all of his own people passed him by, left him in the ditch to die. [19:08] It was a despised Samaritan. It was a foreigner. Jesus specifically picked a foreigner who's the most [19:14] despised to save this man in the ditch. And he said, that is your neighbor. So when I see [19:24] people being gunned down in the streets, when I see people despising the others, whether they are [19:32] black or they are brown, because they don't fit into their vision of what a white America is like, [19:40] can you explain how that is the antithesis of everything Jesus taught his disciples, [19:47] especially when he was telling them how to get to heaven? Yeah, you're, you're taking us to church, [19:55] Joe. This, this parable of the good Samaritan, I think has so much to offer us in this moment in [20:02] our country, this moment in the world, because you're, you're absolutely right for Jesus's listeners [20:07] 2000 years ago, that story of the good Samaritan would have been shocking. You know, these days we [20:14] think of a good Samaritan as someone who just helps people on the side of the road. And that's [20:19] important. You should help people on the side of the road, but we're forgetting how radical that [20:23] message was that he picked a Samaritan, not just an enemy, but a religious enemy. And so he lifted up [20:31] the heretic. He said, the heretic is where salvation comes from. That is such a shocking message. It's [20:36] still shocking today. I've said it's as if Jesus stood in the middle of DKR Memorial Stadium at the [20:44] University of Texas and told a story called the good Aggie. Like it would be shocking to the folks who [20:51] were listening. And no, my dad's an Aggie, so I can make that joke. But you know, I think we have to [20:57] remember that the other, the outcast, the enemy has something to teach us. And I would say that's [21:05] true for the Democratic Party too. Jesus would be telling us that the person who's going to help us [21:10] is our MAGA uncle. And that would be shocking for Democrats to hear. So we all need to check [21:17] ourselves because these, these media systems, particularly social media, these algorithms, [21:22] they divide us for the profit of a few people at the very top. They're pitting neighbor against [21:29] neighbor, telling us that, that our enemies are the problem. And Jesus is trying to break all of that [21:34] from, from 2000 years ago, his message is, is as relevant today as it's ever been. And I think if we [21:42] can learn to love thy neighbor, if we can learn to love our enemies, that is the key to saving this [21:47] American experiment in self-governance, not just here, but this experiment in democracy all over [21:53] the world. So how do you take this message to the voters in Texas, but also to your competitor, [22:00] Ken Paxton? We understand you have an announcement. Well, you know, Ken Paxton's billionaire handlers, [22:09] don't let him answer questions in public. He hasn't appeared on a debate stage in more than a [22:15] decade. He refuses to answer really basic questions like, why did you give an Epstein style sweetheart [22:24] deal to an admitted child predator, Adam Hoffman? How did you become a multimillionaire on a government [22:31] salary? Did Tim Dunn and Ferris Wilkes, your top two billionaire mega donors buy an acquittal in [22:38] your impeachment trial? He won't answer. I think those very relevant questions. He doesn't answer [22:45] to the public because he's not a public servant. He is a puppet politician and I want him to prove me [22:51] wrong. As we just talked about, we have to be focused on forgiveness and redemption and second [22:57] chances. And so that's why I am challenging Ken Paxton to three televised debates. I'll be on that [23:04] debate stage because I answer to the people of Texas. Ken Paxton answers to his billionaire [23:10] mega donors. We'll see if they let him show up. All right. We'll be watching for that. [23:16] Hasn't debated in 10 years. [23:19] And we've got to be interesting to see a debate. I think it'd be good for the [23:23] voters of any state when they're making a choice like this. [23:26] Texas state representative and Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, James Tolerico. Thank you [23:33] very much for coming on. This is 4th of July with Willie Nelson instead of the Knightsbridge. [23:38] That's impressive. I'm a little jelly. I want to see Willie Nelson. You know, [23:43] he watches Morning Joe. Willie, look at that. We love Willie Nelson. [23:46] Thank you, James. Thank you so much. Thank you.