Trump roasts James Talarico as unelectable: ‘You can’t get elected as vegan in Texas’

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump slammed Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico as completely unelectable, declaring, "You can’t get elected as a vegan in Texas." 

Trump asserted that Talarico’s dietary stances and highly progressive platform ensure a sweeping victory for the Republican ticket in the Lone Star State.

Trump roasts James Talarico over vegan campaign and masking

Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One on Wednesday, May 20, Trump predicted that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whom 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."

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.

Resurfaced meat ban comments ignite backlash

The roasting centers on an unearthed 2022 clip of Talarico giving a speech while wearing a mask, where he called reducing meat consumption "existential" in a state where beef cattle production is a multibillion-dollar industry and the largest agricultural segment.

Talarico, who was propelled to the national stage after winning the Democratic Senate nomination earlier this year, has also been widely slammed by conservatives for claiming "God is non-binary," among others.

"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 in the video, 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."

Texas Republicans immediately seized on the video to attack the Democrat.

"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.

Democratic campaign responds to Republican criticism

Amid the swift backlash over his dietary stances, the Talarico campaign attempted to counter the narrative by blasting 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.

JT Ennis, a spokesperson for Talarico’s campaign, in response to Trump’s criticisms on Wednesday, 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.