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President Donald Trump is confident that his pick for U.S. Senate in the Lone Star State will easily defeat Democrat James Talarico, whom he called unelectable because "he’s a vegan in Texas."
Talarico is a prominent state lawmaker who was only recently propelled to the national stage after winning the Democratic Senate nomination in Texas earlier this year. He has been widely lambasted by conservatives for his history of controversial statements, including claiming, "God is non-binary" and that "sex is a spectrum."
While speaking with reporters before boarding Air Force One on Wednesday morning, Trump predicted that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who he endorsed this week, will "win very substantially" in the upcoming primary runoff with incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
He then forecasted that Paxton would "go on to defeat a very defective candidate that believes in six genders, and he takes hits at Jesus Christ, and he’s wearing a mask six months ago, anybody wearing a mask six months ago doesn’t get it."
President Donald Trump mocked Democrat James Talarico, whom he called unelectable because "he’s a vegan in Texas." (iStock/Getty Images Plus; Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images)
He then ripped into Talarico, saying, "And he’s vegan, he’s a vegan in Texas."
"You can’t get elected as a vegan in Texas," Trump insisted.
Trump’s comments reference an unearthed 2022 clip of Talarico giving a speech and calling reducing meat consumption "existential."
"We have heard, I think, heard more and more issues of animal welfare. I think, not just because it’s the right thing to do, and it’s the moral thing to do, but also… necessary to fight climate change," Talarico said, adding, "It is now existential that we try to reduce our meat consumption, and that we try to respect animals."
"So, I am proud to say that our campaign has officially become a non-meat campaign," Talarico continued. "So, we are only buying vegan products from our local vegan businesses."
Talarico can be seen wearing a mask during the speech.
TEXAS TEEN TELLS CONGRESS HE RECEIVED DEATH THREATS AFTER REVEALING ISLAMIC BOOTH AT HIGH SCHOOL
Texas Senate candidate James Talarico speaks at a campaign rally in Houston on March 2, 2026. (Danielle Villasana/Getty Images)
His resurfaced comments caused a significant stir in Texas, where beef cattle production is a multibillion-dollar industry and the state's largest agricultural segment.
"Who wants to tell him that cattle is the #1 commodity in Texas?" the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, wrote on X.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, labeled Talarico a "freak" who wants to "ban BBQ."
"Vote Republican this November. The steaks couldn’t be higher," Cornyn wrote.
Amid the backlash, the Talarico campaign blasted out a photo of the candidate wearing a Texas flag shirt and taking a large bite out of a turkey leg.
"Official Statement from James Talarico on Vegan Accusations," the campaign wrote.
TRUMP BACKS PAXTON IN TEXAS REPUBLICAN SENATE SHOWDOWN WITH CORNYN
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, left, faces Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a GOP primary runoff election. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images; Antranik Tavitian/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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In response to Trump’s criticisms on Wednesday, JT Ennis, a spokesperson for Talarico’s campaign, told Fox News Digital that "as costs continue to rise and corruption in Washington runs rampant, James is focused on taking power back for working people and bringing down the price of gas, groceries, and healthcare."
"James is building a people-powered movement to take on this broken, corrupt political system — not any one politician, not any one political party, but the billionaire mega donors and puppet politicians who have made life more expensive for Texans while enriching themselves," said Ennis.
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
