James Talarico's past anti-meat stance goes viral, draws Republican fire from across Texas political landscape
An unearthed 2022 clip of Texas Senate candidate James Talarico urging voters to scale back "meat consumption" went viral on Tuesday with many lampooning the rising Democratic star.
Talarico, who has already taken heat for controversial 2020 tweets referring to the "virus of racism" and how White people are guilty of spreading it, was a hot topic on social media again when a GOP communications strategist posted old footage of the masked Senate hopeful criticizing meat consumption in the state famous for its barbecue.
"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. It is now existential that we try to reduce our meat consumption, and that we try to respect animals," Talarico said during a fundraiser for laws against animal abuse.
"I am proud to say that our campaign has officially become a non-meat campaign," Talarico continued. "We are only buying vegan products from our local vegan businesses."
Talarico, who is trying to become the first Democrat since 1988 to win a Senate election in Texas, will face the winner of a May Republican primary runoff between Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Cornyn was among Texas lovers of brisket, ribs, and sausage who quickly roasted the liberal politician.
"Vote Republican this November. The steaks couldn’t be higher," Cornyn wrote cheekily in response to the clip that was viewed one million times in the past day.
"Talarico wants to represent Texas but is anti-meat, anti-gun, anti-oil, thinks white people are inherently racist, that God is 'non-binary,' and that the Bible justifies abortion," Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, responded.
TALARICO REPORTEDLY KNEW COLBERT INTERVIEW WOULDN'T AIR ON TV BEFORE HE LEFT TO FILM IT
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, reacted, "This freak wants to BAN BBQ. That’s not Texas."
Turning Point USA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet predicted the clip would "haunt" Talarico in the general election.
"Democrats are trying to fool Texans into believing James Talarico isn’t some whacked out lib, but the clips keep coming," Kolvet wrote.
Fox News political analyst Guy Benson added, "The fact that he made his ‘existential’ meat-free, vegan-only announcement while still masked up in 2022 is just a perfect touch."
Many others took to social media to mock Talarico:
The Talarico campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a series of 2020 tweets, Talarico referred to racism as a "virus" spread by all White people, regardless of whether they exhibit its "symptoms."
Confronted on the posts on a podcast, Talarico remarked that while he would have used different words in hindsight, he was ultimately talking about the "responsibility to combat racism."
"[W]ould I word it differently? Would I use a different metaphor? Maybe, but I still believe that racism is wrong and I still believe that we all have a responsibility to combat it," he said.
A spokesman for Talarico posted on X in response to the reports.
Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo and Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.