James Talarico on the Rage Economy, Billionaires and Flipping Texas

From The New York Times, I'm [music]. Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily. In bright red Texas, James Talarico is. trying to become [music] the first. Democrat to be elected to the United. States Senate in nearly 40 years. >> [music]. >> in what's become by far the most. expensive and ferocious campaign of this. year's midterm elections. Today, we speak [music] with Talarico about the. kind of race he's running, the highly. personal campaign against [music] him, and what he wants Democrats to do if.

they take back control of Congress. It's. >> [music]. >> Tuesday, October 20th. >> Hey there. >> Hey, how are you? >> Good. Can you hear me? >> I can. Can you hear me? >> I can. Thank you for joining us, Representative. James Talarico. Welcome to The Daily. >> Oh, thank you for having me. >> My pleasure. I know you just emerged from a really. nasty flu, arguably the most famous flu. in modern campaign history.

>> A flu gate, yeah. >> So, I know you have a lot of campaigning. to make up for, so it means a lot that. you found the time for us. I just want. to get out of the way. we asked your opponent, Ken Paxton, the. Republican Attorney General in Texas for. an interview as well, and so far we. haven't locked anything down, so stay. tuned. I want to explain, Representative, why we're talking to you at this. specific moment in this midterm. campaign. It's about 2 weeks out from. election day.

And that's because what's become clear. in our coverage on the show, and really. across Times coverage, is that. a good number of disillusioned. Republican voters are upset enough with. President Trump that they are unusually. open to voting for Democrats in this. election, even in very red states. And nowhere is that dynamic we've been. talking about on more vivid display than. your race in Texas. This is a state that. President Trump won in 2024 by 14 points. and where you have nevertheless been.

leading in the polls now for weeks, which is why I think it's safe to say. you've become the Democrat that. Republicans fear the most in these. midterms. They are throwing an. extraordinarily expensive and ferocious. campaign. against you. So, between those two polls. of being the rare Democrat who might. flip Texas for the first time in decades. and this really aggressive campaign by. Republicans to make sure that never. happens, how does it feel to be the guy. in the middle of all of that right now?

>> Well, we are still very much the. underdogs. We're going up against the. most corrupt politician in Texas who is. backed by the most powerful man in the. world and the richest man in the world. Both the president and Elon Musk are. backing our opponent Ken Paxton. And so, we are the underdogs until the last vote. is counted. And you're exactly right. They have already poured $200 million. into. into this race. They spent it on attack. ads against me making me look as scary. as possible. And it's because Elon Musk.

is trying to buy his own personal US. Senator. But I really do believe that. on November 3rd, our state is going to send the world's. first trillionaire a very clear message. that Texas is not for sale. >> I want to talk about what has unfolded. over the past couple of days and weeks. as all this money and muscle has been. thrown at you because it's quite. singular. I mean, just over the past. week, Republicans have claimed back to. the famous flu that you were checked.

into an Ohio mental institution. Basically, that you. that you went crazy. And no less than. the Vice President of the United States, J.D. Vance, has doubled down on a claim, if I can. distill his remarks, that you are a. pervert. with a problematic online search. history. I mean, campaigns have always been full of. personal attacks. They've always been. negative, but. >> Yeah. >> how do you interpret this quite extreme. version of that? >> Yeah, I mean, I think this is an example.

of what I call the rage economy. Conspiracy theorists can post anything. they want online. Politicians can say. anything they want online. The poster. gets clicks. We all get angry on both. sides, and no one's life gets any. better. And so, it's tragic because I. think so many of us go to these. platforms because we are searching for a. connection, and instead we fall into. this broken business model that leaves. us lonelier, leaves us more disconnected. than when we hopped on the platform in.

the first place. So, I know I'm kind of. the latest example of this, but it's. really a systemic problem that's hurting. all of us, not just me and and my. campaign. >> Well, I want to describe very briefly, because I think it will help get us to. the story of. who you really are, what this money Musk. behind a tremendous amount of it is. being used to say about you. >> James Talarico [music] is weird, very. weird. >> Defending trans Texans is something we. have to do every day. >> That you are woke, that you are overly.

focused on social issues. >> Talarico supported using taxpayer. dollars for sex change surgeries on. young children. >> Like trans rights. >> And even said denying your child's. gender identity is abuse. >> Modern science obviously recognizes that. there. >> [music]. >> are many more than two biological sexes. In fact, there are six. >> trans kids watching at home, I just want to say I love you. >> That your Christianity is woo-woo. [music] and left-wing, [laughter]. out of the mainstream.

>> Radical liberal James Talarico for. they/them, not you. >> And that you're not really a moderate at. all. And you're not right for Texas. And so, let's ask you, you know, who you actually are, and where you came. from, and it brought you to this moment. and to this campaign for US Senate. >> Yeah, and I think a lot of these attack. ads are off-topic because what we're all. concerned about here in Texas is the.

rising cost of living, the fact that no. matter how hard we work, no matter how. much we stretch and save and sacrifice, those ends never seem to meet. And it's. because the system, this economic system. and this political system have been. rigged against us. I first experienced. this broken system personally before I. was ever a a politician or a candidate, I was a public school teacher. And I. taught sixth grade language arts at. Rhodes Middle School, home of the. Fighting Wildcats, on the west side of.

of San Antonio. The west side is this. beautiful, historic neighborhood. It's. also one of the poorest zip codes in the. entire state of Texas. >> This is when you were in Teach for. America. >> That's right. And it was in 2011, right. after our state legislature in Texas cut. more than $5 billion from public. education in our state. And so I saw the. impacts of those cuts firsthand. I saw. how. decisions made in the halls of power. hurt flesh and blood human beings.

>> How did it hurt? >> Yeah, at one point I had 45 students in. one classroom, and there weren't enough. desks. >> That's very large. >> those kids. Yeah, very large. And it was. after lunch, so you can imagine middle. schoolers after lunch in a giant packed. classroom, it was just chaos. And and I. had kids, because there weren't enough. desks, sitting on the air conditioning. unit. >> Wow. >> I remember distinctly thinking, this is. the wealthiest country in the world, and. we've got children sitting on the air. conditioning unit. And and that was a um.

a radicalizing experience for me. And. then when a seat in that very same. legislature that had cut those $5. billion opened up in my hometown of. Round Rock, Texas, I threw my hat in the. ring. I was 28 years old. I had never. run for office before. I was a a. Democrat running in a Trump district. And I was told by. >> [snorts]. >> you know, the powers that be in the. Democratic Party that that race was a. lost cause and I shouldn't waste my time. on it. They told me I was.

a little too young. I was I didn't have. the money, didn't have the political. connections to. to win a race like that. But, you know, we ran an aggressive. at times unorthodox campaign. that brought people together. We. practiced a politics of unity. And on. election night, we flipped that district. with 51% of the vote. And now I'm in my. fourth term in the Texas House. >> Well, I want to talk a little bit about. what happens to you in the legislature. You have a reputation for working. closely with Republicans on. a number of pieces of legislation.

Despite that, your Republican colleagues. redraw the legislative maps and. basically take a seat that's purple and. a little bit Trump and make it quite. Republican and very hard to imagine you. winning. And essentially you get. redistricted out of your seat. And I do. wonder what that meant to you. Was that. at all radicalizing? >> I certainly saw how broken this. political system is. And the fact that. politicians are allowed to draw their.

own lines is just insane. And it's no. wonder we have these, you know, crazy-looking districts that are. designed and manufactured to guarantee a. certain outcome. >> Right. Democrats do it as well. >> Well, yeah. I mean, this is not an issue. of party. This is an issue of power. And. so I I experienced that firsthand. I. ended up running in the district next. door. It was actually the district I. grew up in, so it was a little bit of a. a homecoming. And I was able to walk. back on that floor at the beginning of. the next legislative session. And I I.

wanted to do that cuz I wanted to prove. that I would still be in the. legislature, still fighting. And we We. able to do that. >> Well, can I pause you for a second cuz I. think it's interesting what happens in. this new district, this bluer district. When you're in that seat, which you do. prevail in as you just said, you describe yourself as a proud. progressive, you describe yourself as. working against Republican extremism. This is after 2021, and you make. statements that feel more liberal. about there being six sexes. This is.

when you describe God as as non-binary. What motivated that? Was it tied to the. fact that you that you were suddenly in. a bluer district? Or was it something. else? >> Yeah, I don't think I changed. I think. Republicans at the state capital. changed. So. >> Yes. So, you know, when I first got. elected in 2018, I was part of a group. of 12 Democrats who flipped Republican. districts. And so, all of that suddenly. put pressure on the Republican Party in. Texas to use a little more common sense,

to work across the aisle. The culture. war stuff was really at a minimum. And. then after that, the 2021 session, uh. which is when I got redistricted out, those sessions really saw a rise in that. Republican extremism. This is when the. extreme abortion ban was passed in. Texas. This is when they passed. permitless carry, which allows anyone to. carry a weapon without having to have a. permit. Uh this is when they removed Dr. King and Frederick Douglass from the. civics curriculum in Texas, the book. banning. So, I was put in a position.

where I had to fight back against that. extremism. So, you mentioned some of my. comments on gender or on issues. affecting trans people. It's not like I. ran for the legislature to talk about. these things. Again, if you go back to. my first session, I wanted to talk about. public education, which is why I ran in. the first place. I wanted to talk about. health care, which I have a personal. experience with as a type 1 diabetic. And so, now it's kind of ironic that. they're clipping these things to make it. sound like I'm the one who's was talking. about this, when in reality it was the. Republican extremists at the capital who.

were obsessed with talking about trans. issues, obsessed with talking about. people's private parts. Um that wasn't. me, that was them that changed. >> I think I understand the point you're. making, which is that you felt forced to. defend a group of people in the moment. that you did. And I I The only reason. I'm asking this is because you have. since said some of those things, the. quote you used, missed the mark or were. were cringey. And I'm just trying to. understand in that moment why you took. up the mantle that you did. And my. suspicion is that it probably is some.

combination of of what was happening in. the legislature, but also perhaps in the. broader culture. We're talking about. post-2020, when the Democratic Party. writ large is grappling with what it. means in their estimation to defend. certain groups. And did it ever go too far? >> Yeah, but that may have happened in the. Democratic Party at large. I'm not. really. um you know. >> Did it go too far in your case? >> plugged into to what happened uh what. happens nationally with the Democratic. Party. All I can tell you is what. happens in Texas. And in Texas,

these bills are not theoretical. >> Mhm. >> These bills are actually hurting my. constituents. The extreme abortion ban. means that women and girls in my. legislative district can't get access to. life-saving health care. These bills. targeting LGBTQ people have real. ramifications in our state, especially. when they're written to be overly broad. I'm all for it. We want to figure out. when it's appropriate for a trans. athlete to play. in a sport, that's a policy discussion. that we should have and an an issue we. should solve, but the bill that they.

were trying to to pass, the bill they. ultimately did pass, was a blanket ban. in all cases. It treated T-ball the same. as varsity baseball. And and it's. because their goal was to score. political points off of the backs of of. a a very small, vulnerable group of. people in our state. And so, you know, my values haven't changed, but. I was put in a position because of the. rise in Republican extremism to to. defend my my. That's that's my job. And it's exactly. what I'm going to do in the US Senate on. behalf of all 31 million Texans.

>> Got it. And I don't want you to think. I'm harping on this unnecessarily. >> Yeah. >> I was drawn to your own comments later. on suggesting that you had felt at times. you had taken this to places that you. looking back were less comfortable with. and it reminded me a little bit of. somebody you're seeking to be in office. with, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has. assessed this period of time and what. Democrats said and did in it as woke. one. And she says it was crazy. And I'm. just trying to assess whether you. subscribe to that view in your own case,

not, you know, on behalf of an entire. party, but some of the words you use, some of the things you said. Obviously, in defense of the people you just. described. >> Yeah, I don't regret standing up for my. constituents. I would do it again. I. think what I've regretted is kind of how. I phrased certain things because it. obscured the point I was trying to make. You know, I've said a lot of things in. the state legislature over the course of. four terms. Been in marathon hearings. that last 24 hours. So, there are. there's a lot that's said and and when. you pull out and maybe the most.

inarticulate of those things to make an. attack ad, you know, I certainly regret. not, you know, articulating my position. more clearly, more in a more. straightforward way to say what I. actually mean. And that's going to be. true, you know, probably for my entire. time in public service. I'm not a. perfect person. None of us are. And so, I'm going to, you know, always keep. trying to improve how I talk about. things so that I'm getting my point. across. I wasn't making a large point about. American politics or or the Democratic. Party. I'll leave those to the pundits.

and the commentators. All I was trying to say is that I have. said things imperfectly and I'm going to. keep [music] working on trying to. communicate more clearly and. effectively. >> [music]. >> We'll be right back. So, I want to spend some time with your. specific and unique appeal to moderate. and to Republican voters. In Times. polling, we found that you're favored by.

9% of Republicans and 11% of Trump. voters. That's quite high. And I want to. understand why you think that has been. the case. Why do you think that you have. been such an appealing candidate to both. Democrats and to Republicans in this era. when that just doesn't really happen. anymore? >> Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, the. media tends to think of politics and. describe politics on a left-to-right. spectrum. And that's how we've talked. about politics for decades now. So, I.

understand that temptation. In fact, I I. when I first ran for office, I thought. of it as left versus right. That was how. I understood politics. I think it's how. a lot of people still think about. politics. But after. being in this for four terms now, I've. been in the kind of the belly of the. beast, in the lion's den, in the middle. of this broken system, and I've I've now come to see politics. as not left versus right, but top versus. bottom. And those were the first words. out of my mouth when I launched this. campaign in September of last year. And. what I mean by that is the people at the.

top, the Elon Musks of the world, the. Rupert Murdochs of the world, the. wealthy people who also control our. traditional media and social media, they. spend so much time. making us angry, um. getting us to see each other as the. enemies, because our unity is a threat to their. wealth and their power. And they're trying to keep us from. realizing that there is far more that. unites us than divides us. Because they. know once we recognize that, we're going.

to come together across party and race. and gender and religion and culture. to take power back for ourselves. And I. really think that's what you're seeing. in Texas as we speak. >> Well, let's get specific in your. campaign. What in your mind, and based. on your conversations with voters, on a policy level, is most connecting in. this bipartisan. way. >> I mean, everywhere I go across the state. I hear from Texans who are drowning in. this economy and who can't afford the. basics. And so, I think these corrupt. tariffs that are raising prices in the.

checkout line are top of mind. I think. the this new corrupt war in the Middle. East that is driving up gas and diesel. prices at the pump is top of mind. I've. said before that we have an. affordability [clears throat] crisis. because we have a corruption crisis. And. so, I think these recent developments I. think are the kind of the straw that. broke the camel's back. People's wages. have been stagnant for five decades now. Work has not been rewarded. And now. these recent price spikes have left.

people across the political spectrum fed. up. And they are ready for change, not. incremental change, but wholesale. change. And systemic change. >> Well, let's talk about specifically what. you would do about that, the wholesale. change that you are talking a lot about. that is appealing to a fair number of. Republican voters and Democratic voters. You're talking a lot about billionaires. What would you do in this campaign and. what has been resonating about changing. that system? >> Yeah, I mean, the reason the richest man. in the world and and his super PACs are. spending $200 million.

to defeat me is because they know I. don't take corporate PAC money, never. have, never will. And they know that I'm. running on systemic political reform, banning corporate PACs and super PACs so. billionaires can't buy our elections, banning members of Congress from trading. stocks and enriching themselves while. they're in office, overturning Citizens. United and getting this big money out of. our politics. I'm also running on. banning gerrymandering in in every state. in the union, red states and blue states. alike, so we can have free and fair.

elections again. And I'm also talking. about term limits. I've already pledged. to only serve two terms in the US. Senate. Uh and I want to make that true. for every senator. Uh, I want to make. that uh, true for every member of. Congress that they are in this to serve. and then they should. make room for someone else uh, to to. have the opportunity to serve. These are. the kind of systemic reforms that I. think could rebuild a government of by. and for the people instead of what we.

have now which is a government of by and. for the billionaires. >> Those are ambitious and those seem like. long-term programs of of political. reform. I'm curious what your approach. is to something very specific and real. and short-term, gas prices. How are you. going to lower gas prices? >> Well, I've already laid out a plan to. suspend the federal gas tax and the. federal diesel tax which would. immediately drop the price of gas by 18. cents a gallon for Texans and it would. save those who use diesel about $200 a. year. Now, that's a stopgap measure. The.

only thing that's going to really lower. these prices is ending this disastrous. war in Iran. And so I I think we got to. end this this military disaster. >> What what would you do to end this war? I mean and and and do you think current. senators have done enough? >> No, I mean I think we need checks and. balances back in our government. I think. the legislative branch has to reassert. its authority here. I mean Congress in. our constitution is the one that can and. should declare war. And so the War. Powers Act, I mean this is there are. levers that are at at our disposal to.

rein in these overreaches by the. executive branch and this is this war in. Iran is a is a perfect example of that. So, I think what we desperately need is. is to restore those checks and balances. and check the overreaches of the. executive branch. >> I'm curious if I can go back to economic. policy how your agenda is landing in a. state where low taxes, limited. government, pro-business policies have. been the tradition and they've been you. know, fairly popular. Among the things.

you have campaigned on are raising the. minimum wage, adopting universal child. care, canceling medical debt, higher. taxes on billionaires. That would seem. potentially like a riskier element of a. platform that seeks to appeal to a state. of such moderation. >> Well, I mean, if you're still stuck in a. left versus right framework, then. moderation makes sense, but I think when. you're thinking in a vertical framework, it's easy to understand how so many. working people, so many farmers and.

ranchers, so many small business owners. are just fed up with a rigged system. that only benefits the wealthiest people. and the biggest corporations in the. world. And I think a lot of people in. Texas think that is pretty common sense. That's not extreme. That is middle of. the road. And so, you know, I think what. I'm advocating for is is something that. can help unrig this system that has been. hurting so many of us across the state, across the country. And I will say the. systemic reforms I talked about earlier,

you described them as long-term. I think. if we abolish the filibuster, those. reforms don't have to be long-term. >> Mhm. And you And you do wish to abolish the. filibuster. >> I do. I do. I think the majority should. be able to govern in this country. The. filibuster is not in our constitution. It's a Jim Crow relic, and it has. prevented us from making. necessary progress in this country. >> explain, you want the Senate to be able. to legislate through 51 votes majority. of the body, not 60, not be blocked by. the filibuster, which the other side. would tell you, the Republican side,

they have not done because they fear. what Democrats would do with it. But you're saying you're not worried. what Republicans might turn around and. do with it if it changes. >> I believe the majority should be able to. govern. I think voters deserve to see. the results of their vote, whether I. agree with it or not. I mean, what's. happening right now is because of the. filibuster, and then because of the. systemic corruption, we are. we are gridlocked. Yeah, and nothing is. changing. And so, the people of this. country are are swinging wildly between. the two parties because nothing happens,

no matter who they elect. And I will. just say if the choice for a lot of. people in Texas, if the choice is status. quo. and a demagogue, they're going to choose a demagogue. They're going to choose what's going to. maybe bring some change. And and I'd rather create a system where. we can actually deliver that change. without you know, emboldening demagogues. in our politics. And I think the filibuster is the. primary obstacle. to being able to deliver that progress.

>> Mhm. >> [snorts]. >> You're asking a lot of Republicans to. vote for you. And so I am curious, have. you voted for. a Republican? >> Most likely in in the non-partisan races. for school board and city council, I. have certainly voted for Republicans. >> But for Congress, for Senate? >> No. I don't think I've voted for a. Republican in a partisan race in Texas. And that's because [clears throat] in. you know, in my lifetime, at least since. I've been old enough to vote, we have. really seen extremism grip the. Republican Party in our state. You know,

the days of George W. Bush or George. H.W. Bush were gone by the time I was. voting in our state. And that's I think. exactly why so many conservative small c. conservatives are joining this movement. of ours. We've been endorsed by 20, I. think it's actually more than 20 now, current and former Republican officials. across the state. >> Mhm. >> Because they see that one-party rule. always leads to extremism and. corruption. And that's certainly. happened in Texas with Republican. one-party rule. But I I also I think it.

it probably happens. I've never lived in. a one-party blue state, but I think you. can see in one-party blue states a lack. of delivering for working people, a lack. of responsiveness. So I think that. one-party rule in Texas over over three. decades since I was in kindergarten has. really led to an extremism and a. corruption that I've I've voted against. and worked against my entire time in in. public service. >> I wonder how much when when about your. appeal in this race to Republicans, you. think your character and biography is at.

the core of that appeal. When I think. about your success in this race, especially with Republicans, I think. about your fluency with religion, specifically with with Christianity and. the prominence it plays in your. campaign. It feels like. over the past 15 to 20 years, Republicans have laid claim to. Christianity. I mean, there's a. Christian right, there's not really a. Christian left. Do you think Democrats. have been too reluctant to do what. you're doing, which is to appeal to. voters on faith-based grounds? >> I mean, I think candidates in both.

parties should show up as they are. They. should be themselves and they should. share their why. And if that's faith, like it is for me, then candidates. should talk about it. From what I can. sense is that a lot of Democrats have. felt uncomfortable talking about faith. And and I think the mistake that people. in my party have made. is that they they confuse the separation. of church and state with a separation of. faith and politics. We want people to bring their faiths,

their moralities, their ethics, their. worldview, their philosophies to our. politics. We want a politics that is. spiritually rooted, rooted in something. deeper than partisanship, than red team. versus blue team. We want our politics. to be rooted in timeless values. And and. I'm not saying it has to be sectarian. Christianity. I I hope it's more than. that. I hope it's people from all. different traditions coming together to. have a rich conversation about how our. politics should reflect our our shared.

values. That's the distinction I think. we have to remember. The separation of. church and state should never be. mistaken for a separation of faith and. politics. Jimmy Carter, Dr. King, Dorothy Day, Mr. Rogers, all these. people brought their faith to their. their service and I think that we need. more of that in this country, not less. of it. >> Do you think that if you win this race, it will, speaking of faith, speaking of. character, it will have been because of. the contrast with your opponent Ken. Paxton on the question of character, on.

the question of morality, or do you. think it will be because of the contrast. in terms of of policy? >> I'm not sure what the difference is. between those two things. You know, I I. think our policies are a reflection of. our morality. And I think the corruption. that I talk about in this campaign is. deeper than just illegal corruption. I'm. also talking about a deeper corruption. I mean the the rotting. of of something from within. And we've. seen that in every part of American.

life, in our politics, our government, in our churches. We've seen it in. business, in our economy. There is something deeply broken in this. country. And I hope that our little. campaign in Texas can be a part of a. much. larger movement toward spiritual renewal. and fighting that corruption at its. root. So, yes, I I hope this campaign in. our state is a part of something much. bigger. >> On the subject of what it would look. like if you become a.

Democratic senator from Texas, and if. Democrats do win the Senate back, you'll. become part of a system that you that. you've characterized multiple times in. this conversation as broken. And so, I. want to ask you how you're going to. navigate that. Let's say Democrats have a slim. majority. That seems like the the likely. scenario if they were to flip the. Senate. And I imagine you'll suddenly be in the. middle of fierce debates among Democrats. over what the Democratic majority should. be focused on. And. I do want to understand what you think. that mandate will be if if your. colleagues in the Democratic Party want.

to suddenly impeach the president or a. member of the cabinet, is that what you. think your mandate is? Is there someone. in the cabinet you want to see. impeached? Or is that not at all what. you want this. to be about? >> Well, my mandate, if we're successful in. this race, will be to take on corruption. and lower costs. Those are the two. things we've been talking about every. day on the campaign trail. They're the. two things that we have heard from. voters across the state. And so, you. know, I I want us in the United States. Senate, hopefully on a bipartisan basis,

not just Democrats, to do those two. things. We should tackle the corruption. in our system, whether we see it in the. executive branch, in the legislative. branch, in the judicial branch, and then. we should after we're able to clean up. that corruption, start delivering for. working people. When we unrig this economy, when we. unrig this political system, that will. allow us. to actually get this economy back on. track, so that people who work hard can. get ahead. >> That might sound to some people like. impeach and then legislate.

>> Well, again, as a state lawmaker, I sat. in an impeachment hearing. It's. ironically. against the person I'm running I'm. running against, yes. Um. and I characterized it at the time, this. was long before this Senate race against. Ken Paxton, I characterized it as the. most important vote. >> Mhm. >> that I was going to cast as a lawmaker, because we were voting to remove a duly. elected public official from office, which is a a major thing to consider. And I. I carefully evaluated the evidence in. that trial. I read every document line.

by line, and I joined with Republicans. on the other side of the aisle who saw. the same thing I saw, and we came to the. same conclusion that this man is unfit. for public office. And I did my duty in that impeachment. vote. And and if an impeachment vote. comes up in the US Senate, if I'm a part. of an impeachment trial, I will. carefully evaluate the evidence, and I. will vote accordingly. Um but I'm certainly not going to not. going to prejudge an impeachment trial. on a podcast.

>> Understood. But do you think President. Trump is central to the corruption. problem you're talking about? >> I I mean, I I certainly think that we've. seen unprecedented corruption in this. administration, and I think it angers. people in both political parties, including some of the president's. strongest supporters. Again, people in. Texas, including people in my family, voted for President Trump in 2024. because they thought he was going to. lower costs. They thought he was going to drain the. swamp. They thought he was going to end. the wars. They thought he was going to. release the Epstein files. But more than.

a year into this administration, everything is more expensive because of. these corrupt tariffs. The swamp is. bigger than it's ever been before. because of this corruption that you're. talking about. We have a new corrupt war. in the Middle East, and the Epstein. files have still not been fully. released. So, there's a lot of. disillusionment in our state, including. among the president's core supporters. >> I have a final question for you, although I know you have to go to a. rally. >> Yeah. >> Um there's a lot going on. Let's say everything I've just been. describing in these scenarios doesn't.

come to pass. You do not win. in November, and Senator-elect Paxton, despite all the scandals that have. trailed him, goes to Washington. Texas. stays red. Democrats don't take the Senate. What will it say to you that Democrats. couldn't win. in this political environment when the. president is this unpopular? And what. would it say that you couldn't win. Texas? >> Well, it'll mean that we have a lot more. work to do in Texas, and the work will.

continue long after this campaign, whether we're successful or not. We are. a part of a a relay race of Texans who. have been fighting for the promise of. this state. And even if we're not. successful in this election, that work. will continue, and hopefully we'll learn. lessons from from this campaign, lessons. on what to do, and maybe lessons on what. not to do. And uh and I'll be proud to have played. that role uh in this much longer and. larger movement. >> Will it have meant though that money.

ultimately conquered. the momentum that we are seeing the. Democrats have in these red states? >> Big money is powerful and I'm not going. to sugarcoat it, but my faith teaches me. that. it is nothing compared to people power. And when we put our faith in our. neighbors and our collective ability to. make change, that will one day. pay off. It may not happen tomorrow, it. may not happen on November 3rd, may not. happen in our lifetimes, but faith means. living a larger story.

And so, we're going to keep running that. relay race and we'll pass it off to the. folks who come after us and one day we. will win. >> [music]. [music]. >> Well, Representative Tony Rico, thank you for your time. Appreciate it very much. Good luck with. your rally. [music]. >> Thank you. Appreciate you.

>> We'll be right back. >> [music]. >> Here's what else you need. >> [music]. >> to know today. France's government ordered curfews in. some towns and neighborhoods on Monday. night as it tried to reassert control. after the country's worst riots [music].

and looting in decades. Amid widespread criticism of the. government's handling of the riots, France's Interior Minister said he had. offered his resignation [music] to. President Emmanuel Macron, but that it. had not been accepted. Meanwhile, [music] the violence quickly. became a political issue. With months to. go before a presidential election, France's right-wing party, National. Rally, sought to portray the violence as. the [music] failure of its left-wing. rivals, especially France Unbowed, a.

party whose presidential candidate has. supported [music] the protests. Those protests began as peaceful. demonstrations over school conditions. and the cost of living, but descended. [music]. into scenes of masked agitators. attacking government buildings. >> [music]. >> and breaking into stores. Today's [music] episode was produced by.

Diana Winn, Lexi Dio, and Era Krupky. It was edited by Rachel [music] Quester. and Paige Cowart. Fact check by Susan. Lee. Contains music by Marion Lozano and. Dan Powell. And was engineered [music]. by Chris Wood. Our theme music is by Wonderly. Special thanks to Lauren Migahi. >> [music].

>> That's it for The Daily. I'm Michael [music] Barbaro. See you tomorrow.