Jimmy Kimmel’s Interview with James Talarico That the FCC Doesn’t Want You To See

[0:00] I mentioned last night that we are being targeted by the FCC [0:03] for the crime of interviewing political candidates, [0:06] even though, for years, we and every other late-night talk [0:09] show have welcomed numerous candidates, [0:11] including Donald Trump. [0:13] When he was running, he was on this show two times, [0:17] but now I guess he doesn't like me anymore, [0:19] or the First Amendment. [0:20] And so the FCC has threatened me, or threatened my show, [0:23] our network, even our local ABC stations, [0:26] because they want to make our editorial decisions for us, [0:29] which, of course, we cannot accept. [0:31] And so tonight, we are bypassing the public airwaves [0:34] and hosting this YouTube interview on YouTube, [0:37] even though our government would clearly [0:39] prefer that we not do it at all. [0:41] So let's meet our guest tonight. [0:43] He's a Democrat running for the US Senate in a very red state. [0:47] He is one of the most interesting people in politics, [0:49] and we're happy to have him with us from Round Rock, Texas. [0:52] Please welcome James Tallarico. [0:54] James Tallarico will. [1:10] Thanks for having me. [1:11] This is not the first time you've been demoted to YouTube, [1:14] when you were on Stephen Colbert's show. [1:16] That's right. [1:16] This same, very same thing happened. [1:18] Why are they so scared of you? [1:20] Well, they're worried that we're [1:21] going to win this race in Texas. [1:28] But we are the underdogs until the last vote is counted. [1:32] We're not just going up against the most corrupt politician [1:35] in Texas. [1:36] We're going up against this entire corrupt system. [1:38] You may have seen that Elon Musk, the world's first trillionaire, [1:46] has already dumped millions of dollars to try to defeat us [1:49] in Texas. [1:50] MAGA, Inc., the president's Dark Money Super PAC, [1:53] spent $10 million last week to try to defeat us. [1:57] And so they are terrified of this movement [1:59] we're building in Texas. [2:00] Working people coming together across party and race and gender [2:05] and religion and culture to take on the people at the top who [2:09] have been screwing us over for far too long now. [2:11] I have to say, it tickles me that they're terrified of you. [2:18] I mean, no offense, but you look like Richie Cunningham. [2:20] It's like. [2:21] I'm not very scary. [2:22] You look like you're running for student council. [2:25] That's right. [2:26] I don't know what about this Boy Scout scares them so much. [2:29] But I've been following you for a long time. [2:32] I've been watching your videos. [2:33] I think what you're doing is great. [2:34] I really do. [2:35] And you hit on something that I think is very, it resonated [2:38] with me. [2:38] Because you hit on something that used [2:41] to be on all of the bumper stickers. [2:42] It would be, what would Jesus do? [2:44] And I think Jesus had been co-opted by this MAGA [2:49] enterprise in this way that it makes no sense when you really [2:53] think about it. [2:54] Would Jesus be throwing people into vans [2:57] and separating them from their children? [2:59] Would Jesus be taking kids off food stamps? [3:02] This is not the Jesus that I learned about growing up. [3:05] And you bring it right back to the Bible, [3:07] to the real teachings of Jesus. [3:09] And it is very authentic. [3:12] I mean, you can feel it that you know what you're talking [3:15] about, that you believe what you're talking about. [3:17] And I think that is so very powerful. [3:21] And good for you for doing that. [3:23] I appreciate that. [3:25] You know, I think it was Reverend Raphael Warnock [3:30] who said that Jesus Christ is the most famous victim [3:34] of identity theft. [3:36] That the kind of religion that says you can treat people [3:41] however you want as long as you have a personal relationship [3:44] with Jesus is an abomination. [3:47] It is a cancer on the body of Christ. [3:50] Scripture tells us that you can't love God [3:53] and hate other people. [3:54] You can't love God and abuse the immigrant. [3:57] You can't love God and oppress the poor. [4:00] You can't love God and bully the outcast. [4:04] We spend so much time looking for God out there [4:09] that we miss God in the person sitting right next to us, [4:13] in that neighbor who bears the divine image. [4:17] I was brought up to believe that in the face of a neighbor, [4:20] we glimpse the face of God. [4:23] Matthew 25 tells us Christians exactly how [4:27] we're going to be judged and how we're going to be saved [4:30] by feeding the hungry, by healing the sick, [4:34] by welcoming the stranger. [4:37] I often wonder what would Jesus do if he visited the U.S. Senate? [4:42] I think he would tell the senators on the floor depart from me [4:48] for I was hungry and you cut my food assistance. [4:52] I was sick and you kicked me off Medicaid. [4:56] I was a stranger and you deported me and my family. [5:00] And then I think he would flip over those fancy desks [5:04] on the floor of the U.S. Senate [5:06] and demand that we take care of all of our neighbors, [5:08] especially the least of these. [5:10] You see what I mean? [5:17] You mentioned flipping over. [5:18] This is on your website. [5:19] I think this is a great slogan. [5:20] I think this would be a great bumper sticker. [5:22] It's time to start flipping tables. [5:24] Is this a bumper sticker? [5:25] It's shaped like one. [5:27] It should be. [5:28] And that refers to Jesus flipping tables in the temple [5:31] where there were selling things and selling, I don't know, [5:34] pigeons or something like that, right? [5:36] Well, that's right. [5:37] You know, we oftentimes think of Jesus [5:39] as this gentle, polite, kind person, which he certainly was. [5:44] No, he kicked ass. [5:45] Well, when his neighbors were being hurt [5:50] by powerful people, he didn't stay in his room and pray. [5:53] He walked into the seat of power [5:56] and he flipped over the tables of injustice. [5:58] It was an act of civil disobedience [6:01] on behalf of his neighbors. [6:04] And I think we all have to follow that example in this moment [6:08] when so many of our neighbors are being hurt [6:10] by a broken, rigged, corrupt political system. [6:14] And so that's our inspiration for this campaign. [6:15] And mean, and mean, too. [6:17] This is mean what these people are doing. [6:20] Yeah. [6:20] What you... [6:21] But I think also there's a point that people make, [6:24] maybe misunderstanding this idea of feeding the hungry [6:28] and all of these things that we all aspire to. [6:30] I think even most of the people who could brand themselves [6:35] as, as MAGA, it's, there's an insinuation [6:38] that that means that you're, these are handouts, [6:41] that people are not carrying their weight, [6:43] that they just want and they take. [6:45] And it's just, it's just interesting [6:48] because I think that's something that gets pounded [6:49] into people's heads. [6:50] And yeah, there are, of course, cases where that is true [6:54] on all sides, but it's just not, [6:57] it's not as true as they think it is. [7:00] Well, I had someone in Texas, [7:02] it was actually on a YouTube show called Surrounded, [7:06] where I sat down with 20 undecided voters [7:09] in the state of Texas and had an honest conversation. [7:11] And one of those voters brought up the issue of, [7:14] in his words, welfare queens. [7:16] And I told him the truth that the biggest welfare queens [7:20] in this country are the giant corporations [7:23] that don't pay a penny in corporate taxes. [7:25] That's right. [7:26] That's right. [7:27] The, the, the, the, the C, the CEOs [7:34] who get to ride off flying on a private jet [7:37] from their taxes, I mean, these are the people [7:39] who aren't actually contributing anything [7:41] and they are taking from all of us. [7:43] And so we need a senator who's going to fight back [7:45] against that, that corrupt system. [7:48] And, and you know, Jimmy, the, the RNC convention [7:52] is in, in my home state right now. [7:54] Were you invited? [7:55] I, I, I think I missed my invitation. [7:57] It's probably still in the mail. [7:59] But while, while corrupt politicians [8:04] and their, their billionaire megadonors [8:05] were partying at a convention center in Dallas, [8:09] our campaign brought people together across the state [8:12] to collect groceries for families that are struggling. [8:16] The tickets to that billionaire ball are $20,000. [8:20] And so it's fitting that our volunteers collected [8:23] 20,000 pounds of groceries for working taxes. [8:26] That's right. [8:27] That's great. [8:28] So the contrast couldn't be, couldn't be starkly. [8:31] Now in fairness, you were out here for fundraisers [8:33] because unfortunately that has become [8:35] one of the most important jobs for a politician. [8:39] You have to raise a lot of money in order to, [8:43] if you want to win. [8:44] Well, and you know, while Ken Paxton is in my home state, [8:46] I'm an eighth generation Texan. [8:48] I thought I would come out here and visit his home state [8:50] because Ken Paxton grew up here in California. [8:53] And, and he is currently... [8:55] Is that supposed to be a negative from you guys over there? [8:58] My kids grew up in California. [9:01] And maybe Ken Paxton should run for senator out here [9:05] in California. [9:05] Oh, he'd do great out here. [9:06] Oh, I'm sure. [9:07] Yeah, yeah. [9:08] But you know, the thing about fundraising is, [9:10] is you got to look at where the money is coming from. [9:12] You know, I don't take a dime from corporate PACs. [9:16] I never have, never will. [9:17] All of my money comes from hardworking Texans [9:21] who are giving $5, $10, $15 at a time. [9:23] And we have shattered grassroots fundraising records [9:27] in this campaign. [9:28] And it's a, it's a people-powered movement. [9:31] People believe in you. [9:33] They've tried a lot. [9:34] It seems like the Republicans just cannot. [9:36] You are bedeviling them in so many ways. [9:39] They went on, they did this whole thing about you being vegan. [9:42] They insinuated that you were... [9:43] Those are fighting words in Texas. [9:44] Yeah. [9:45] Insinuated that you were gay. [9:47] This whole six genders nonsense. [9:49] They said you hate Christianity. [9:51] Yes. [9:51] Which is just crazy. [9:52] And none of it seems to work. [9:54] It's really, I think, a testament to the people in Texas [9:59] that they're seeing this. [10:00] And they're going, no, I don't buy it. [10:02] I don't. [10:03] I think people are tired of politics [10:06] as professional wrestling, right? [10:08] These, like, these old guys lathered up in their fake tans, [10:12] throwing, throwing, throwing corny nicknames at each other. [10:16] I mean, these nicknames, they don't lower the price of groceries. [10:20] They don't lower the price of gas. [10:22] They don't lower the cost of health care. [10:23] They don't actually improve anybody's life. [10:26] And that's why I'm in politics. [10:28] I mean, the only reason I ran for office, [10:30] the only reason I'm running for the U.S. Senate, [10:32] is to try to love my neighbor through public policy. [10:35] Trying to make my neighbor's life easier and better [10:38] and less stressful. [10:39] Your, um... [10:41] Our friend Donald Trump spoke about you this evening. [10:45] I don't know if you're aware of this, but... [10:46] He talks about me a lot, so I don't know if... [10:49] Look at this guy running from Texas. He looks like... [10:51] Tallarico. [10:52] Yeah, well, I call him Tallarico, [10:54] because he is. He's a freaky guy. [10:56] He's got some... He's got something wrong with him. [10:59] Um... [11:00] He says he's misspoken or he's missed the mark [11:02] on some of his comments. [11:03] No, no, he's misspoken on everything. [11:05] He has no respect for Jesus. [11:07] He has no respect for religion. [11:08] All of a sudden, he's a big religious fanatic, you know? [11:12] He loves meat. [11:13] He throws up after every time he eats. [11:15] He gets sick and he throws up all over the place. [11:18] Do you... [11:19] Do you throw up all over the place? [11:21] Don't. I don't. [11:22] You know, I am excited to announce that we have [11:26] I'm a Tallarico T-shirts available on our website. [11:30] JamesSallarico.com. [11:32] Um... [11:33] You know, you said... [11:34] Will Trump get a cut of that? [11:35] Does he get it? [11:36] I mean, in fairness, you should throw him a little something. [11:38] Well, it's actually the fastest-selling item on our website. [11:40] Is it really? [11:42] We're grateful for the president for the nickname. [11:44] He said that I'm, all of a sudden, a person of faith. [11:47] I mean, my granddad was a Baptist preacher in South Texas. [11:51] I still attend the same church where I was baptized [11:54] when I was two years old. [11:55] You were in the... [11:56] You are currently a seminarian, is that correct? [11:57] That's right. Yep. [11:58] I'm studying to become a minister like my granddad one day. [12:02] And he said that I'm... [12:06] He said I'm disrespecting Jesus. [12:10] You want to know what actually disrespects Jesus? [12:13] Kicking the sick off their health care [12:15] to give tax cuts to billionaires. [12:17] You know... [12:19] You know what... [12:21] You know what actually disrespects Jesus? [12:24] Is bombing innocent schoolchildren in Iran [12:27] and sending our brave men and women off [12:29] to die in another forever war? [12:31] That is what disrespects Jesus. [12:33] You, um, uh, your team made a great video [12:40] about your Republican opponent, Ken Paxton. [12:43] It's really, like, this guy, there seems to be... [12:45] His list of indictments is like a CVS receipt. [12:49] It is unbelievable that this man has been an attorney general [12:55] for, what, like, 10 years in Texas. [12:57] It's really, like, mind-boggling. [13:00] But you made this... [13:00] You got this video, and you... [13:02] I can't imagine how pleased you were. [13:04] You got security video of him stealing a pen. [13:08] Explain what happened here. [13:09] So, yeah, if you haven't heard about this story, [13:12] uh, Ken Paxton stole a fellow attorney's $1,000 pen. [13:17] It's a guy named Joe Joplin. [13:19] It was a special gift from his wife, [13:21] and he left it at the courthouse metal detectors [13:24] in the little bin. [13:25] And when he went back for it, he... [13:28] Uh, he talked to security, they looked at the footage, [13:30] and Joe Joplin recognized the thief. [13:32] It was Attorney General Ken Paxton. [13:35] And... [13:36] And Ken Paxton didn't even return the pen [13:39] until police got involved. [13:40] And... [13:41] And so, like I've said many times, [13:43] Ken Paxton is the most corrupt politician in Texas. [13:46] He will steal your tax dollars. [13:48] He will steal your health care. [13:49] And now we know he'll even steal your pen. [13:51] Yeah. [13:52] You may have Joe to be part of this video that you made. [13:58] Hi, I'm Joe Joplin, and I endorse James Tallarico [14:01] for the United States Senate. [14:03] Vote for James Tallarico. [14:05] He won't steal your pen. [14:09] And... [14:11] And Jimmy, uh, speaking... [14:14] Speaking of the Web Store, um, one of our other popular items [14:17] is this not Ken Paxton's pen. [14:20] Oh! [14:21] I was hoping you would bring me one of these. [14:22] And I brought you... [14:23] Is this for me? Oh, great. [14:24] And I brought you... [14:25] That is for you. [14:26] Don't show it to Ken Paxton. [14:32] All right, yeah. [14:33] Well, I hope he can read. [14:34] I'm not sure that he can. [14:36] You, um, Ken Paxton's net worth increased [14:39] how much since, um, he has been in office? [14:42] 7,000%. [14:43] How much does he make a year, uh, as a government, uh, salary? [14:46] Less than $150,000 a year. [14:48] And somehow he has how many houses? [14:50] Multi-millionaire. [14:51] Uh, Ken Paxton now owns 15 homes. [14:53] Now, in fairness, you know, people talk about equal time. [14:56] I would love to have Ken Paxton on to explain his... [14:59] How he's... [15:00] I mean, he must be a... [15:01] He should be the Secretary of the Treasury [15:03] if he figured this out on $150,000. [15:05] If he had a Secretary of Corruption, [15:06] Ken Paxton would be an excellent choice. [15:08] Have you been to any of Ken's many, many homes? [15:11] I haven't. No, I haven't. [15:12] Um, but, you know, this is... [15:14] This is exactly what people are tired of in our politics. [15:17] People who run for office to enrich themselves [15:19] and their donors at our expense. [15:21] And... [15:22] And Ken Paxton owns 15 homes, [15:24] while most Texans can't afford one. [15:26] He's become a multi-millionaire on a government salary, [15:30] while the wages of most Texans has remained stagnant [15:34] for years and for decades. [15:35] He has refused to debate you. [15:37] Just for the record, you've offered to debate him many times. [15:40] He accepts and then never schedules it? [15:43] Is that how it goes? [15:44] That's right. [15:45] And this is supposed to be the high-testosterone candidate. [15:48] And... [15:49] Let's take a look at the high-testosterone candidate. [15:52] Yeah, there he is. [15:53] Well, I mean, this is the problem. [15:58] Ken Paxton gets rich on the public's dime, [16:01] and then he refuses to answer basic questions [16:04] about that corruption. [16:06] I mean, literally any time someone asks him a hard question, [16:10] he runs away. [16:11] And I mean literally runs away. [16:12] You can watch these videos of people asking him [16:15] about his 15 homes, asking him about the THC ban in Texas, [16:20] and he gets this terrified look on his face [16:23] and he just walks the other way. [16:25] And when I get hard questions on the campaign trail, [16:28] I answer them. [16:29] And that's exactly what we should expect [16:31] from our public officials in a democracy. [16:33] You know, it's one of the other interesting stories here [16:38] is that John Cornyn, senator in Texas, [16:41] who Trump doesn't like, [16:44] he decided that he was going to support this Ken Paxton. [16:48] Ken Paxton beats Cornyn. [16:50] Cornyn would have been a much tougher opponent, [16:52] I think, probably. [16:53] Everybody would agree on that. [16:55] And now Trump is, [16:57] I think maybe he's having second thoughts about Ken Paxton, [17:01] because this is how he's done this many times. [17:04] And then they say, [17:05] you can't say this, sir. [17:06] That's so insulting. [17:07] Please, sir. [17:08] You may not like the way he looks. [17:11] The fact is that some may not like the way he dresses. [17:16] I don't. [17:17] They may not like the way he talks. [17:20] I can see that, you know? [17:22] I'm James Tallarico, and I approve that message. [17:26] I mean, you know, Ken's own staff reported him to the FBI. [17:38] His own party, his fellow Republicans impeached him for bribery. [17:44] Actually, his own defense attorney has endorsed me in this campaign. [17:49] And now his biggest supporter is calling him ugly on national television. [17:55] I'll just say, I mean, I know the president likes to win. [17:58] He's a big winner. [17:59] And if he wants to be on the winning side in this race, [18:02] he is welcome to join the movement that we're building in Texas. [18:05] I feel like subconsciously he has. [18:08] Yeah. [18:09] I mean, a lot of his supporters, a lot of the president's supporters [18:12] have joined us in Texas, and we'd love to have the man himself. [18:14] Look, not that appearance means anything, [18:16] but does Texas really want to have Ted Cruz and Ken Paxton [18:21] as the two guys representing them in the Senate? [18:24] Ted Cruz, by the way, doesn't seem, he's nervous. [18:28] In fact, he's, you've got him begging now. [18:31] We're at risk of losing the Lone Star State for the first time in 38 years. [18:38] Ladies and gentlemen, this is an emergency. [18:41] You started an emergency. [18:43] Well, and I wouldn't be surprised if Ted Cruz filmed that video in Cancun. [18:48] You know, the only person who has a busier vacation schedule [18:56] than Ted Cruz is Ken Paxton. [18:58] You may have seen this, that Ken Paxton spent the 4th of July, [19:02] our 250th anniversary of independence from the British, [19:07] with the British. [19:08] He was in London for the 4th of July. [19:11] And, you know, I spent the 4th of July in Austin, Texas, [19:14] with Willie Nelson at his annual 4th of July picnic. [19:18] So the contrast could not be more stark. [19:22] Did you and Willie partake? [19:25] I am declining to answer the questions. [19:28] On a serious note, they are closing voting locations in Tarrant County, [19:34] which is a big county in Texas, to make it harder for people to vote. [19:40] Yeah. [19:41] Which everyone should be against. [19:42] That's right. [19:43] It's the most un-American thing. [19:45] Because the right to make our voices heard in the democratic process, [19:49] the right to shape our own destinies, that is the most American of rights. [19:53] And it's why I have fought so hard against these poll closures. [19:57] In Tarrant County, which is home to Fort Worth, [19:59] this is the largest swing county in the state of Texas, [20:02] they are closing 92 polling locations. [20:04] That's a third of all the polling locations in Texas. [20:06] They claim they don't have the money for it, right? [20:08] Yeah, which is ridiculous. [20:09] Mm-hmm. [20:10] They are trying to make it harder for people to vote in the state of Texas. [20:13] They've also suspended a million voter registrations in our state. [20:17] So anyone from the state of Texas who is watching this YouTube, [20:21] I'm urging you to check your voter registration online [20:24] and make a plan to vote early. [20:26] Yes, this voter suppression is powerful, [20:28] but it is nothing compared to people power. [20:31] If we all stand up and make our voices heard, we'll win this race. [20:34] Since we're on YouTube, [20:39] would you mind telling people to like and subscribe? [20:41] Yes, please, like and subscribe. [20:43] And then push the... [20:44] The button. [20:45] Push the little button and the thing. [20:46] Yeah, yeah, yeah. [20:47] All right, well, it's great to meet you. [20:48] It's so great to meet you. [20:49] Thanks for being here. [20:50] Good luck. [20:51] Thank you for what you do. [20:52] Thank you so much. [20:53] James Tallarico, everybody. [20:54] Vote in November.