James Talarico SLAMS Ken Paxton's Corruption LIVE ON AIR

[0:00] The guy who has the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Texas has a big anniversary today. [0:05] Today, August 3rd, is the anniversary of his mugshot being taken on the day he turned himself [0:12] in to face charges in a multi-count securities fraud indictment. Those are charges he later [0:17] settled. Texas Republican Ken Paxton was turned into the FBI by his own staff in the Texas [0:25] Attorney General's office. They turned him into the FBI for bribery and abusing his office. [0:30] Ken Paxton was then impeached by the Texas House of Representatives, [0:34] including 60 votes for his impeachment from his fellow Republicans. But they didn't remove him [0:42] from office. He was only not removed from office after that impeachment because of the Senate trial [0:49] in that impeachment. You remember this from Trump's impeachment, right? You get impeached in the House [0:53] and then you go on trial in the Senate. It was the same thing for Ken Paxton in Texas. And the trial [0:59] in that impeachment in the Texas Senate was overseen by Texas' Republican Lieutenant Governor. [1:07] Texas' Republican Lieutenant Governor literally, I'm not kidding, literally took $3 million [1:13] from two billionaire Ken Paxton supporters right before he started overseeing that trial. And then, [1:21] wouldn't you know, everything in that trial really seemed to go Ken Paxton's way. [1:24] And so they kept him in office. On $150,000 government salary, Ken Paxton has not been able [1:32] to explain how he has amassed a multimillion-dollar real estate portfolio that includes at least [1:37] 15 homes and parcels of land, including three houses he simultaneously claimed as his primary [1:45] residence, and one home where he has been registered to vote, even though he definitely doesn't live [1:51] there. Even though his campaign says he follows all voter-related laws, Ken Paxton himself refuses [1:58] to answer any questions about where he votes and if it's legal, even as he stokes fears of voter [2:06] fraud for everybody else. To get a sense of Ken Paxton's reputation in Texas, and the kind of thing that [2:12] Texas voters have been hearing about Ken Paxton recently, consider that while Ken Paxton was [2:17] primarying Republican U.S. Senator John Cornyn, Cornyn's ads against Ken Paxton looked like this. [2:28] It's voting time, so let's cut through the bullshit. Crooked Ken Paxton cheated on his wife. [2:33] She's divorcing him on biblical grounds. So now Paxton's wrecking another home, sleeping around with a [2:39] married mother of seven. Okay, so that's who Texas Republicans have nominated to take John Cornyn's [2:47] Senate seat in Texas this year. But if you ask Texas Democrats, they will tell you that actually [2:53] that's LBJ's Senate seat. And this is the man Texas Democrats have nominated to beat Ken Paxton [3:01] and flip that state, flip that seat blue. The president of the United States just said that I [3:11] insulted Jesus. You want to know what insults Jesus? Kicking the sick off their health care while [3:19] cutting taxes for billionaires. You know what insults Jesus? Deporting the stranger and separating [3:29] babies from their mothers. You know what insults Jesus? Bombing innocent schoolchildren in Iran and [3:37] sending our brave men and women off to die in another forever war. You know what insults Jesus? [3:44] Covering up the Epstein files and then refusing to prosecute a single person in them. [3:50] That is James Tallarico. He's the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate in Texas. [3:57] That clip is from his TikTok channel. That clip has 24.3 million views. And that tells you a little [4:04] bit something, a little to something about James Tallarico's strength as a candidate and his strength [4:08] as a political communicator. You may have heard about James Tallarico's appearance on the Joe Rogan [4:14] podcast, where Joe Rogan told him, point blank, that he should run for president. You may have seen [4:21] the viral clip of James Tallarico opposing the Texas Republicans' requirement to post the Ten [4:27] Commandments in public school classrooms. That clip went viral because it included James Tallarico [4:32] giving a full biblical exposition of not just how unconstitutional and un-American it was, [4:38] but how un-Christian it was as well. He was able to speak to that both as a Texas Democrat [4:44] and as a seminarian. You may have seen his appearance on The View, which led the FCC to [4:50] start a, quote, equal time investigation of ABC for the crime of putting on James Tallarico. [4:57] You may have seen his appearance with Stephen Colbert, which CBS lawyers told Colbert to cancel. [5:05] And Colbert then did the interview purely for his YouTube channel, where it promptly got about 10 [5:10] million views and sparked millions of dollars in fundraising for James Tallarico's campaign. [5:18] Texas has 32 million people in two time zones with 20 media markets. It is profoundly expensive [5:24] to run there. And Democrats have felt for a long time like the DACA's really stacked against them [5:31] there. Democrats tell themselves every couple of years that maybe this is the year they can finally [5:35] start winning there. But no Democrat has won statewide in Texas since 1994. [5:39] Is this year different? There is something about James Tallarico and frankly, something about Ken [5:48] Paxton, too, that makes this U.S. Senate race seem legitimately winnable for Texas, for Democrats. [5:56] And there is something specifically about James Tallarico that I think has really driven Republicans [6:02] to distraction. They are quite palpably unnerved by him. They are desperate for people to not hear [6:08] him speak. It is that same something that has Democrats nationwide talking about James Tallarico [6:15] is more than just a promising candidate in this one race. Democrats nationwide have been talking [6:20] about him as somebody who's really important, perhaps, to the whole future of the Democratic [6:24] Party. Joining us now for the interview is James Tallarico, Democratic nominee for Texas Senate. [6:30] Mr. Tallarico, thank you so much for being here. Thank you for having me. [6:32] I really appreciate the chance to meet you in person. We've never talked before. [6:35] No. I've been really looking forward to this. [6:36] Well, same here. So talk me into the idea that you can win a statewide race in Texas right now [6:45] in 2026 when Beto O'Rourke couldn't with that remarkable campaign, with either of his two [6:51] remarkable campaigns, when Colin Allred couldn't, when Wendy Davis couldn't. These are all candidates [6:57] who got a lot of national attention, got a lot of sort of Democratic hopes up. Why are you different? [7:02] George Carlin has this great line that inside every cynic is a wounded idealist. And so I just [7:09] want to speak to all the wounded idealists who are watching this show right now and trying to figure [7:14] out if they can believe that winning Texas is possible. 2018 is when Beto O'Rourke got within [7:20] two and a half points of beating Ted Cruz. The backlash that we're seeing to the extremism [7:25] and the corruption in our government is bigger than it was in 2018. And then I didn't think it was [7:31] possible to find a candidate worse than Ted Cruz, but I think we found him in Ken Paxton. I mean, [7:37] this is the most corrupt politician in our state, one of the most corrupt in the entire country. [7:42] You mentioned that since taking office, he's become a multimillionaire, all while the pay of [7:48] most Texans has remained stagnant for years, for decades. He now owns 15 homes, while most Texans [7:56] can't afford one. He's taken bribes from wealthy donors, all while he blocks overtime pay for Texas [8:03] workers and guts our health care. I mean, he was one of the attorneys general who led the fight [8:11] against the Affordable Care Act, which has led to premium skyrocketing for Texans all over the state. [8:18] And you just saw this month that he's taken these lavish vacations to Iceland, to England on the 4th [8:26] of July. Quite a decision to spend our 250th anniversary from the British. [8:31] Independence from where? [8:32] Yeah, right. He was with the British on that anniversary. And most Texans can't afford to [8:37] take a vacation given this cost of living crisis. So Ken Paxton's corruption is costing us [8:43] in the state of Texas. And it's why the people closest to Ken Paxton know he's unfit for office. [8:50] You mentioned that his own party impeached him in the Texas house. His own staff reported him to the [8:55] FBI. His own defense attorney just endorsed me in this race. I'm kind of expecting his family dog to [9:04] run away and head over to my house any day now. I mean, I think in a time when we're all so divided, [9:10] there is one thing that Texans, Democrats, independents and Republicans can agree on. And that's [9:15] that's that we can't afford Ken Paxton's corruption. [9:18] Listening to you talk about Ken Paxton that way, I'm struck by the contrast in the way you just sort of [9:23] made the case against him there. And that clip that I just played from that John Cornyn, brutal primary [9:29] ad, hitting him on personal ethical issues, the very messy divorce, the allegations of adultery, those [9:37] expensive vacations that you just referenced. Part of the reason those got a lot of tabloid attention [9:42] is because he was taking those vacations with a woman who's not his wife. She's also associated [9:47] with some of the properties that he's been found to have sort of without explanation. I'm wondering [9:53] if that's a conscious decision from you to avoid what may be salacious charges, but potentially really [10:00] politically resonant charges about his personal character. I mean, I think the only thing worse [10:06] than Ken Paxton's personal cheating is his public cheating. I mean, yes, he's betrayed the people [10:12] closest to him. You mentioned this being the anniversary of his famous mugshot. And that was [10:17] because he was indicted for securities fraud, for investment fraud. And what's fascinating about that [10:23] story? I'm not a lawyer, but when you when you read about what happened, he was scamming his own [10:29] friends. He convinced his own friends to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars into a tech company. [10:34] And then he didn't tell him that he was getting a commission off those investments. [10:37] And so I've said on the campaign trail, if Ken Paxton is willing to scam his own friends [10:42] for a quick buck, what makes you think he's not going to scam you in the United States Senate? [10:46] And the last thing I'll say is, I served with with Ken Paxton's wife. She's a state senator in Texas, [10:55] Senator Angela Paxton. I have great respect for the for the senator. We don't agree on on every issue, [11:02] but I respect her public service. And the last thing I want to do is is kind of bring up all this [11:08] all this personal stuff when there's so much public stuff to really prosecute the case on. [11:14] And so I'm just going to stick to Ken Paxton's public record because there's plenty of material [11:19] there to to run a campaign and and make the choice in this election clear for the people of Texas. [11:26] Your relationship with Republicans in the legislature is is interesting politically, [11:31] because as a Democrat in the Texas legislature, obviously you're in the minority. Republicans have [11:35] had that had a lock on control in both chambers for a long time. But still, as a Democrat in the House, [11:41] you have been able to pass a remarkable amount of legislation where you were lead sponsor as a [11:48] Democrat and you still got stuff made made into law. What should the country understand? You're [11:56] running for this position in the United States Senate. Understand about how, as a Democratic Texas [12:02] U.S. senator, you'd be able to sort of put those lessons to work at the federal level. I don't I don't [12:08] think that Democrats nationwide have much faith that there is any and anything to be achieved by [12:13] working with Republicans at the federal level. But you've done it at the state level. Yeah. And [12:17] and so I've passed 60 bipartisan bills through the Texas legislature. And these are not, [12:22] you know, nibble around the edges, incremental bills. I mean, I passed the largest early childhood [12:28] education bill in our state's history. I passed the first ever cap on insulin copays in our state, [12:35] passed a major reform to our justice system, allowing incarcerated minors to earn a high [12:40] school diploma. So these are these are major bills that are making a real impact on on Texans. [12:46] And I think the key, you know, my faith is is central in my life. It's central in my public service. [12:52] And there's a teaching from my tradition to love your enemies. And it's an it's a it's become kind [13:00] of cliche, but it really is a radical teaching. One, it acknowledges that you're going to have [13:07] opponents. Right. I mean, if you're trying to do right by your neighbors, if you're trying to speak [13:11] truth to power, you're going to run into some resistance, some people who disagree with you. [13:15] But you're called to love those opponents, those enemies, just as much as you love the people you're [13:20] fighting for. And so in the state legislature, like I've been able to form real friendships, [13:26] real relationships with my Republican colleagues. And we're fighting, you know, one day tooth and [13:32] nail. You know, if you see me on the on the back mic in the well of the state house, I have no [13:37] problem going toe to toe when I need to. But then the next day, we may find a piece of common ground [13:43] that we can actually get something done on. And I'm always going to seize that common ground whenever I [13:47] can. And so we're told that it's a choice between people who fight and people who get things done. [13:53] I think the people of Texas deserve a senator who can do both. And I've shown in the state house [13:58] that I can do both. One of the things that I find it personally most challenging to be empathetic [14:08] about or like you're talking about love your enemy. One of the things that I just I have a real hard [14:13] time getting over and just thinking about in a way that doesn't get me personally exercised [14:18] is when people use political power to make sure that other people can't vote. Yes. When you are [14:25] using the prerogatives of your control of the state or your control of the federal government, [14:30] whatever it is, to make sure that you can't be ousted. That's right. And one of the things that I [14:35] always kind of lecture people about when I'm hearing them get when I'm hearing Democrats get too [14:38] optimistic about Texas is that Texas has the second lowest voter turnout in the country. [14:44] And it's not because Texans are apathetic. It's because it's really hard to vote in Texas. [14:48] Texas Republicans have systematically attacked the franchise so that, you know, you can't there's [14:54] not only is there no same day voter registration, there's no online voter registration. There's no [14:58] automatic voter registration like when you get driver's license or something. And it's and plus, [15:04] there's all of this not just fear mongering, but threatening people around these these sort of [15:11] phantoms of voter fraud. I don't know how you both compete for people's votes and constructively [15:22] and empathetically compete with the people who are taking those votes away from your constituents [15:27] and their own. Yeah, it's why attacks on voting rights is a red line for me. And it should be a red [15:32] line for all of us, right? We can we can disagree on all kinds of issues, issues of of moral importance, [15:38] issues of life and death. But the key is that we always have a shot in the next election to make [15:45] our case to the people and and get a shot at at winning political power and attacks on voting rights, [15:53] this redistricting power grab. Those are attempts to to to rig the rules of the game so that we don't [15:59] have a shot at at making our case to the people in the next election. And so it's why a year ago, [16:06] a year ago today, my colleagues and I in the state house broke quorum to shine a national spotlight [16:12] on this redistricting power grab. I mean, that's an extraordinary step, right? I mean, [16:16] we have to love democracy even when we lose. And the people of Texas, at least at a statewide level, [16:22] have voted for Republicans historically, at least over the last 30 years. And when you break quorum, [16:28] you are disrupting representative democracy. But it is a tool in our Constitution in our state [16:34] because it's an important check on the abuses of the majority. And when you manufacture the lines [16:42] of a district to guarantee a certain outcome, you are robbing our neighbors of their their God [16:48] given rights at the ballot box. And I say God given intentionally not, you know, doesn't matter if [16:54] you're religious or not. But I think we can all agree that these rights don't come from politicians. [16:59] They are inherent to us as human beings, as citizens of this country. And when you are robbing [17:05] someone of those God given rights, you're robbing them of their ability to shape their own destiny [17:10] for us as a community, as a state to shape our own destiny. Do you think there's a way to turn it [17:14] back, though? I mean, I agree with your critique of what's wrong about it, but I don't see any U-turns [17:20] ahead either in Texas or federally. It's even worse. Here's where we disagree because you mentioned [17:25] that this is LBJ's Senate seat. And if we win this seat in Texas, of all places, I think we can build [17:33] the political will to restore the Voting Rights Act, which was signed into law by Lyndon Johnson. [17:38] And so it's only appropriate that winning his seat could be the key in restoring federal voting [17:47] rights protections for all Americans, banning gerrymandering in every state, blue states and [17:53] red states alike, so that we can truly have free and fair elections in every community. [17:57] Stay right there. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be back with James Tallarico right [18:02] after this. Stay with us. Back with us live on set is Texas State Representative James Tallarico. [18:09] He's the Democratic Party's nominee for the open Senate seat in Texas this year. [18:14] Representative Tallarico, thank you again for being here. [18:16] Thanks for having me. [18:18] Critics have argued that one of the things that makes you unelectable in Texas, [18:25] is a reason that you can't win in Texas, is because you have been empathetic toward and voiced [18:32] support for trans people, that you have not been willing to join in in the demonization of trans [18:38] trans people that motivates so many candidates right now and that that the Republican Party [18:45] has relied on so heavily in general election campaigns. What's your response to that? [18:49] I mean, I don't think we win by selling people out and we're refusing to do that in this campaign. [18:57] This is a campaign of by and for all Texans. And and I think people are really tired of these [19:04] culture war fights that are designed to tear us apart, designed to get us angry. I mean, [19:10] there are there are difficult issues trying to figure out trans athletes in sports. That's an [19:15] issue where we could actually come to a policy solution. But instead, politicians like Ken Paxton, [19:20] they use those difficult issues to rile people up, to divide us, to distract us in order to win [19:29] power for themselves. I mean, it's divide and conquer. It's the oldest strategy in the world. [19:34] And so what we're trying to do in this campaign is is bring people together. I've said that the most [19:39] radical thing you can do in an era of division is unite people. And we're not going to win with [19:44] the politics of division. We we can't win that game. We have to change the game. And I think what's [19:49] exciting about this campaign is is so many people are hungry for that kind of politics of union [19:56] and of friendship, of love. And people have been so starved of it for so long now. I mean, [20:04] we've we've seen what a politics of fear looks like. We've seen what a politics of anger and rage [20:09] looks like. But it's been a while since politics has made us feel hopeful or excited about the future [20:16] or brings us together and creates community. And I think that's what we're building in in Texas in [20:21] this election. Well, you had a very difficult, very hard fought primary to get this nomination [20:27] against Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett. And that was a very racially striated result. She had a lot [20:33] of support from black Texans and you did not. I mean, Texas has more African-American residents than [20:40] any other state in the country. Black Democrats are absolutely the backbone of the Texas state [20:45] Democratic Party. What are you doing to repair any remaining bitterness from that campaign to reach [20:51] black Texans to convince them that you're their candidate too? Yeah, I want to pick up on something [20:56] you just said. When I win this seat as the next U.S. senator from Texas, I'll represent the most [21:02] African-Americans of any senator in the state and in the country. And that work of representing black [21:09] Texans starts now. It doesn't start the day after the election. And so I've been traveling the whole [21:14] state. I've been convening private conversations with black business leaders and elected officials [21:21] and community leaders and faith leaders. I've been visiting black churches and black-owned businesses [21:26] appearing on black media throughout the state, particularly our local Dallas Weekly and Houston [21:32] Defender, but also podcasts and YouTube shows where folks are now getting their information and their [21:37] news. And I've been rolling out policy proposals based on all these conversations that can meet the [21:44] needs of black Texans. Obviously, there are issues that we all face, right? The rising cost of [21:49] groceries and gas and housing and child care and prescription drugs. And then there are issues that [21:55] black Texans face uniquely. And you think about the maternal mortality crisis in our state that is [22:00] three times deadlier for black women. Harris County, home to Houston, is the deadliest place for a black [22:06] woman to give birth in the entire country. And so we've rolled out a comprehensive plan to combat that [22:11] crisis. We've been visiting our HBCUs. We did a town hall at Prairie View and then gave the [22:17] commencement address at Paul Quinn College in Dallas, the oldest HBCU. We've been talking about [22:22] how to bring HBCU funding up to parity because there's a gap in funding between our historically [22:27] black colleges and universities and similar institutions with a similar percentage of low-income [22:32] students. And imagine if we actually closed that gap, what our HBCUs in Texas could do. And then we [22:38] already talked about voting rights. I mean, we have seen the most aggressive attack on black [22:43] political power since Jim Crow. Gutting of the Voting Rights Act, these racist redistricting maps. [22:49] And I think the first thing that we have to do, to your point earlier, when we win a Senate majority, [22:55] our first priority, before we get to housing and health care and education, [22:58] has to be passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and guaranteeing that all of our neighbors, [23:03] particularly our black and brown neighbors, can access their god-given rights at the ballot box. [23:10] One last question I want to ask you about, even though I've just been told we're out of time. [23:13] Oh, no. [23:13] Forget it. I'm breaking the rules. [23:15] It's your show. [23:16] One of the... Sort of. [23:17] One of the things that I was... I came across in prepping for today's show was interesting [23:23] images out of San Antonio from just a few days ago, on Friday in San Antonio, [23:28] where I know you were a middle school teacher at the very beginning of your career. [23:31] People protesting there against ICE detention facilities, ICE immigrant prisons. [23:38] A group of Democratic Texas members of Congress recently toured Dilley, [23:45] the family detention center in South Texas. [23:48] And what they found there was shocking in terms of the conditions in which people were held, [23:52] but they also found things that were just shocking categorically. [23:55] They said that the youngest person they found incarcerated there was two months old. [24:01] Should Dilley be shut down? [24:03] You know, my friend and colleague, Congressman Joaquin Castro, has done a lot of work on this. [24:08] And he's telling me about the human rights abuses that are happening at Dilley. [24:12] It has to end. [24:13] And that can't be on our watch. [24:16] And this is not the last time, the first time that we've seen a baby, an infant, [24:21] being treated this way in Dilley. [24:24] I am sick to my stomach seeing the abuses that have been committed against our [24:32] undocumented neighbors in Texas and all over this country. [24:37] You mentioned that I was a teacher on the west side of San Antonio. [24:39] I taught a lot of undocumented students. [24:41] In Houston, we saw ICE murder Lorenzo Salgado, our fellow Texan who had lived in Houston for 35 years. [24:49] And as a construction worker, he sent his three boys to college. [24:53] His oldest is a public school teacher. [24:55] His middle son's an engineer. [24:56] His youngest is still in school. [24:58] I mean, Lorenzo Salgado embodied the American dream. [25:01] And the fact that we are spending our limited law enforcement resources on Lorenzo Salgado on a two-month-old, [25:09] those are law enforcement resources that aren't going to actual immigration and customs enforcement. [25:14] Those resources aren't going to keeping us safe and removing people who actually mean to do us harm, which we should do. [25:20] Instead, those resources are going to masked men and unmarked vehicles that are terrorizing our communities, all over the state. [25:28] They're going to these detention centers like Dilley. [25:31] And I think we need a senator from Texas who is going to hold ICE accountable, who's going to end these human rights abuses in these facilities, [25:38] and who's going to fight for comprehensive immigration reform, finally, so we can stop grandstanding on this issue and actually fix it. [25:44] Texas State Representative James Tallarico is the Democratic Party's nominee for the open U.S. Senate seat in Texas this year. [25:52] It's really nice to meet you. [25:53] I'm glad to have a chance to talk to you this way. [25:55] Come back. [25:55] Thank you. [25:56] Good luck. [25:56] Thank you. [25:57] We'll be right back. [25:57] Stay with us.