Trump, Republicans get NIGHTMARE NEWS in Texas

I'm joined now by Democratic nominee for. the US Senate in Texas, James Hollareco. James, thanks for joining me. It's good to see you. So, James, first and foremost, as we. head toward today's primary election in. your state of Texas, uh can I have your. reaction to Donald Trump's decision to. to endorse Ken Paxton over John Cornyn? Well, you know, I don't think it really. matters what's going to happen in this. Republican runoff because we already. know who we're running against. We are. running against the billionaire mega. donors and their puppet politicians. And.

that that is embodied by. Paxton or John Cornyn because both of. them are are deeply corrupt. Both of. them are far more interested in serving. their billionaire mega donors than. serving the people of Texas. And so, our. campaign is bringing people together. across the state, across the political. spectrum to confront this broken, corrupt political system that both. Paxton and Cornyn uh epitomize. And can. you give a little bit of an indication. of like some conversations you've had.

with Republicans or independents or. non-voting Democrats, whatever it may be. in your state because I think, you know, obviously to win statewide in Texas, you're going to need support from across. the the political spectrum. Um but I'm. I'm just wondering what what people have. been saying to you, anecdotal though it. may be, that would give an indication of. of what the the general feeling among. Texans is. Yeah, you know, I've been traveling to. every corner of the state, red areas,

blue areas, purple areas alike. Uh I've. gone from Beaumont in far East Texas to. El Paso in far West Texas. Um traveled. from Amarillo in the Panhandle all the. way down to Brownsville in the Rio. Grande Valley and everywhere in between. And we've had tens of thousands of. Texans showing up up to rally with us at. these events. We keep having to move. venues because there are are so many. people interested in this movement that. we're building. And I can't tell you the. number of people who come up to me at. the end of these events and whisper,

"I'm not a Democrat.". Like they're in the witness protection. program or something. Uh and and they all think they're the. only one, but after you have, you know, dozens of those conversations at every. event, you start to realize that this is. a a bipartisan backlash. against the extremism and the corruption. in our government and our politics. And. so, I think we're building something. really special uh here on the ground. And you see it, you know, in the polling. results. So, it's not just anecdotal. Uh.

we are seeing um you know, in every. public poll that's come out in recent. weeks that we're leading both Ken Paxton. and John Cornyn. And so, we are, you. know, for the first time in Texas uh in. a position to actually win statewide, transform this broken, corrupt political. system, and change American politics in. the process. And what does that look. like, changing the American political. system? Like like. if Democrats are able to to bring about. a majority in in the House and Senate,

ultimately get control of the White. House, what does a new iteration of not. just the party, but but our system of. government look like? What would you. What would you want to see done that we. haven't been able to accomplish thus. far? There are so many issues that we have to. tackle once we have a a Senate majority, but I would say the number one issue. should be comprehensive political. reform. It should be getting big money. out of our politics, banning corporate. PACs, banning super PACs, overturning. Citizens United, and banning members of.

Congress from trading stocks and. enriching themselves while they're in. public office. But it it also should. include going after the forms of. corruption that don't involve money. I. think we need a national ban to end. gerrymandering once and for all so that. we can have free and fair elections in. every community, red communities and. blue communities alike. So, I think. those kinds of political reforms are. necessary to fix the system itself. because until we do that, we're not. going to make progress on education and.

on health care. We're not going to bring. down the cost of housing, the cost of. groceries, the cost of gas. Uh we're not. going to. create good paying jobs for the people. of Texas, the people of this country. So, political reform I think has to be. our top priority. And by the way, that's. self-evident because we have so much. corruption that that the Trump. administration and and these politicians. are swimming in right now and and the. results or lack thereof are a testament. to exactly what you just said. We don't. have better infrastructure. We don't.

have better health care spending. We. don't have any of the things that that. Trump himself ran on because the. corruption kind of. prevents you from being able to even do. that because there's no legitimate. outcomes coming out of this coming out. of this government. To that end, can you. speak a little bit about and and I'm. just going to kind of make an assumption. here. Obviously, we'll have a better. idea tonight. But, can you speak about. while we're talking about corruption a. little bit of what Ken Paxton has been. engaged in over the last few years?

Yeah, Ken Paxton embodies this broken. corrupt political system that we were. just talking about. He was impeached 3. years ago by his own party for using his. public office, his position of public. trust to enrich himself and his donors. at our expense. And that that that kind. of corruption is the rot at the core of. our broken political system. It's why we. can't afford anything. It's why we can't. get ahead no matter how hard we work.

because billionaires buy politicians. like Ken Paxton and then those puppets. rig the economy in favor of those. billionaires at our expense. And so, if. we're going to start to to. unrig this economy so that it actually. works for regular people again, where we. could actually afford our our gas, our. groceries, our insurance, our. housing, our child care. If we're going to be able to do that, it. has to start by transforming this. broken, corrupt political system. It's.

getting that money out of our politics. That is That is the key to making. progress on all these other issues that. we care about. James, I've I've. probably spoken to you. more than a dozen times over the last. few years now. And And I'm always so. interested in in. um. the issue of religion, especially as it. relates to, you know, somebody on on the. left, because it feels like the right. has kind of co-opted that space for at. least at least my entire life.

Can you speak a little bit about how. your reaction to what we have seen thus. far, not just with Trump and. and the right more broadly, their. attacks on the Pope, for example, but. even just living. how they choose to live their. quote-unquote Christianity in the sense. that these people ran on. protecting health care and making sure. that people were fed and that the little. guy was taken care of, that there was. housing and rent. And when they get into. office, I mean.

we have seen them spend time and money. on on a reflecting pool, on repaving the. rose garden, on building a ballroom for. the wealthiest most well-connected. Americans. Right now, they're. constructing a. a UFC. stage on the White House lawn, because. apparently that's where their priority. is. We have We We've seen a, you know, no money for food assistance or health. care, but almost $2 billion to pay out. insurrectionists from January 6th. And. so, just this this kind of chasm between.

what these people say as as. self-proclaimed Christians, but how. they're actually living it. Well, you know, we're living in an era. of corruption. We've talked about. [clears throat] our political. corruption, we talked about the economic. corruption where the top 1% owns more. wealth than the entire middle class. Uh on this campaign, we've talked about. the social corruption, the fact that. these algorithms are tearing communities. apart, pitting neighbor against. neighbor, and sowing division in the. very fabric of our communities. Uh but.

we're also seeing corruption in. in our in our religious institutions. Uh. we've seen scandals here in the state of. Texas of faith leaders preying on on. kids, on vulnerable people. And so, this. corruption really infects every facet of. American life, and people can feel that. It's why I think you're seeing such a. backlash to this corruption because it's. everywhere across our country. And I. hear from Christians all of the time who.

come up to me and thank me for speaking. about my faith. Uh Brian, you know that. my my granddad was a Baptist preacher in. South Texas. You know that I'm a a. Presbyterian seminarian, and my faith is. guided by those two commandments that. Jesus gave us to love God and love. neighbor. And there's no there should be. no limits on that second commandment. We're called to love all of our. neighbors regardless of their zip code, regardless of their skin color, regardless of their religion. We're.

called to love everybody in our. community, and I think that kind of love. is it's missing from our politics, it's. missing from our economy, it's missing. from our our social life together, and. it's also missing from organized. religion. And so, I think what you're. going to see in this election and in in. the coming years is. is people coming together to try to take. on this corruption and renew, restore, uh resurrect, to use a a term from my. tradition, uh to build something new.

Uh something can come out of the ashes. of these broken systems, and uh and I do. see the the beginnings of of that. movement all over the state of Texas. You know, we we have seen the the the. beginnings of Republicans try to figure. out how they can attack you in this. race. One of one of those. talking points they landed on was that. was that you're a vegan. Can can I just have your your your. reaction to to that because I have seen.

a non-zero number of photos of you. eating barbecue down in Texas. That's. right. >> [laughter]. >> Yeah, I our campaign basically runs on. barbecue these days. And if if all they. have is lying about me being a vegan, I feel pretty good about our chances in. November. I think it also just shows the. the extent to which they will go to. distract from this disastrous economy. I. mean, with the way the price of beef is. going up, we all may be forced to be.

vegans at some point. So, I'm going to. keep focusing on on lowering costs. I'm. going to keep focusing on on putting. working people first, taking on this. corruption so that we can unrig this. economy. I think that's what Texans. want. They're kind of tired of. of these of these. games in our politics, the mudslinging. and the the nicknames and the trolling. and the owning. But none of this is. going to lower our costs. None of this. is going to increase our pay. None of. this is going to cut our taxes. And so, I think what we're doing in this.

campaign is bringing people together. across all these divisions, standing up. to the silliness in our politics, standing up to the corruption in our. political system so that we can actually. start delivering for Texans. I I think. that that that's exactly right. Like. this is this is kind of in a way the. perfect microcosm for not not just this. race, but but our kind of our politics. more broadly. I mean, we we saw an. entire 2024 campaign where it was just. basically culture war. I mean, that that. was what they had to lean on. We saw the. the you know, Trump is for you, Kamala's.

for they/them was like the the the. preeminent ad of that campaign and it. was focused on trans athletes and like. the these issues that don't impact. regular people and and that's what. Republicans kind of exploited in in the. 2024 election. I think people are. recognizing now that that by by seeing. them try to wield that same playbook. against you and focus on this idea of. like making making this race a. referendum on like some. lie about veganism. It's it's it's them like we like.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me. twice, shame on me, right? Like we've. been through this before where it was. just culture war nonsense and that might. have worked in 2024, but now in an era. where healthcare is being cut, food. assistance is being cut, costs are. higher, gas is nearly at its highest. point that it's ever been. I think I. think that's going to fall a lot more. flat. now that people know that this is just a. tool they wield to distract people from. the real issues. That's right. And. people are waking up to the fact that. we're all being played. That we're all.

being pitted against each other by the. people at the very top who have rigged. the system against us. I mean, this is. you know, I started off this campaign by. saying that the real fight in this. country is not left versus right. It's. top versus bottom. It's all of us, whether we're a little more progressive, a little more conservative, whether. we're black, white, brown, whether we're. urban, rural, suburban, gay or straight, all of us are getting screwed by this. system, by the people at the very top. And so what we're doing in this campaign.

is bringing people together across these. divisions to stand up to this this. culture war nonsense that they keep. pushing to dis to divide us and distract. us. And I think we're we're seeing the. fruits of this movement already. You. know, we've recruited more than 45,000. volunteers who are doing the work. organizing communities all over the. state. We have shattered grassroots. fundraising records all without taking a. dime from corporate packs and and it's. going to take a lot more work to pull.

this off. So I hope that the the people. watching your show or listening to your. show will go to jamestalerico.com and. and sign up to help whether they live in. Texas or not. We're going to need as. many people giving their time and their. treasure to this movement that we're. building and I think if we do that, if. we do the work in the months ahead, I. think we're going to shock the world by. by flipping this seat in Texas and. electing a senator who's going to serve. all of us in the state of Texas, not. billionaire mega donors.

You know, James, there there has been talk on the left. about, you know, we we we just spoke a. little bit about what the talking point. is on the right. They're they're. desperate, you know, grasping at straws. to paint you as a vegan even as your. campaign is fueled by fueled by Texas. barbecue. On on the left though, we have. heard a number of people float your name. even as people start discussing the. prospect of a president, maybe in 2028, maybe beyond. And I'm not going to ask. you about about, you know, the prospect. of you running for president because I.

I've heard that question be posed to you. before and and you rightfully have said. that your focus is on this race. But. what does it say more broadly about what. your campaign and you have been able to. accomplish in such a short amount of. time that that your name is included in. that conversation? Well, I I think that people. really get the sense that there's. something broken. in this country. Our political system is. broken and our economic system is. broken, but even our relationships with. each other feel broken.

And that's because the most powerful. people in the world want it that way. The people who own the algorithms, the. people who own the cable news networks, the people who own the politicians. fighting on our screens, they want us at. each other's throats. They want us. focused on how we're different instead. of on how we're the same. And so they divide us by party, by race, by gender, by religion, so we don't. notice that they are picking our. pockets, that they're closing our public.

schools, they're gutting our health. care, they're raising taxes on all of us. while they cut taxes for themselves. It's it's the oldest strategy in the. world, divide and conquer. And. everywhere I go across the state of. Texas, I just I feel that people are. hungry for a different kind of politics, not one that's based on fear or hate or. division, but one that's focused on. love, on on a love for this country, a love. for our neighbors, a love for what we can achieve together.

And that's what I think our our campaign. is offering people. It's been a long time since politics has. made us feel hopeful. It's made us feel. angry, it's made us feel terrified, but. it hasn't moved us towards something. good and and hopeful in a long time. And. I think our campaign is starting to turn. the page on this politics everybody's. sick of. Last question here. Um. I'm sure that you've encountered folks. in Texas for whom their political.

affiliation is is really completely. intertwined with their identity. In fact, I think that the political. parties have a vested interest in making. people in making sure that people can. say, you know, I'm I'm. I'm a white man, Christian, and a. Republican. Like that being as big a. part of their identity as as their. religion or or their sex, whatever it. may be. How have you found it's been the most. effective to persuade folks. for whom their political affiliation is. their identity? Because it's probably.

not just as you know, it's not as easy. as just being able to say like, "Hey, I'm an I'm an undecided voter. Whoever's. going to has Whoever has the better. ideas, you know, my my my vote's up for. grabs." These are people maybe whose. whose grandparents voted for Republicans. and whose parents voted for Republicans. and they voted for Republicans their. entire lives. I'm sure you've you've um. encountered something like that. And so, what what has been effective in those. instances? Yeah, you know, I I think a lot of. people are feeling disillusioned about. politics. A lot of the people in my.

family and in my in my community um. the people I I uh grew up with that. voted for Donald Trump in 2024, they voted for him because they thought. he would lower costs. They thought he. would end the forever wars. They thought. he would release the Epstein files and. drain the swamp. And they've seen in. just the first year of this. administration that the president has. done the exact opposite. That he has. raised prices through his crazy tariffs. He has started new forever wars, including the one in Iran. He has.

redacted and and protected the Epstein. files and kept them from public view. And he has made the swamp even bigger, bigger than it's ever been before. And. so, they're starting to question um you. know, some of what they believed about. politics and politicians. And what I'm trying to do is is reach. out to those people, extend an open hand. rather than a closed fist. I'm not. interested in relitigating the 2024. election. If if you're sick and tired of. this extremism and this corruption, then.

you have a place in this movement that. we're building. And we're speaking to to. some deeper identities, the the identity. we all share as Texans. You know, the. word Texas comes from that Caddo Native. American word for friend. And what's. what's interesting is that they didn't. use that word to describe a friend in. their own tribe. They used it to. describe a friend in a different tribe. Friendship across these lines of. difference, through these these uh these. differences, and that's exactly what.

makes Texas so special. We're this big. mashup of all these different people and. cultures and food and music and and it's. why our state is so innovative. Um our. technology, our industries, our our art, uh it defines the world because of that. spirit of friendship. Uh and we're. always welcoming new friends and new. ideas. um into our state. And I think we need a. senator who's going to. who's going to honor that that legacy, who's going to embody those old school.

Texas values. Uh and I I think the. values are going to make a comeback in. in this race, in this year, in this. state. Well, James, it is a pleasure and. an honor watching your campaign. I'm so. excited to watch you shock the world. just a few months from now. Highly. recommend for anybody who's watching, uh. if you're able to contribute to this. campaign, I'm going to put the link to. to his website right here on the screen. and also in the post description. Uh if. you're listening on the podcast, I'm. going to throw it in the show notes. And. uh and let's uh let's let's get this. thing over the finish line. James, thanks so much for taking the time.

Thanks, Brian. >> [music].