Speaking at a campaign rally in San Antonio, Texas, on Wednesday, President Donald Trump launched a heated appeal to voters, warning that the state would face eternal scorn if they allowed Democrat James Talarico to win the Senate race. Addressing a crowd in one of the nation’s most Republican strongholds, Trump expressed concern that the GOP’s historic dominance in Texas could be ending under his watch.
“We’ll never forgive you for what you have done if you let that happen,” Trump told attendees, according to reports from the Oct. 7 event.
The president’s remarks came as multiple polls indicate Talarico has a viable path to becoming the first Democrat to win a statewide office in Texas in over thirty years. Trump sought to galvanize the base by characterizing his opponent in stark terms. “The people of Texas are not going to let a weak, gutless, self-hating, transgender-promoting freak show destroy everything that we built,” Trump said during his third visit to the state in less than a month.
Trump spent much of his speech focusing on Talarico, employing nicknames such as “Talafreako” and repeating false claims about the state representative’s diet. He asserted that Talarico is a vegan forced to eat meat for political reasons, claiming the candidate is “sick” and vomiting as a result. “He wants to eat a little piece of lettuce,” Trump said. “He’s sick because he’s been forced to eat meat for political reasons.”
The rally, which was frequently disrupted by protesters, saw Trump pivot between personal attacks and broader policy promises aimed at reinforcing traditional Texas values. He referenced his commitment to carry out the first federal execution by firing squad since World War II for a soldier convicted of attacking troops at Fort Hood in 2009. He also mocked climate change initiatives and falsely alleged that Democrats intend to eliminate thousands of oil and gas jobs in the state.
Trump acknowledged he had deviated from his prepared notes, stating, “I’ve basically been off-script for the entire night.” His discursive speech appeared designed to polish his legacy while assisting Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Senate bid, a effort complicated by the president’s own declining popularity.
Recent polling suggests Trump is a liability for Republicans across the ballot. A Reuters-Ipsos survey released Monday showed Democrats leading by seven points on the question of which party should control Congress, with other surveys showing an even larger gap. Nearly two-thirds of Americans now disapprove of Trump’s job performance.
To counter these trends, Trump renewed his promise to distribute $5,000 to every American if Republicans retain control of both chambers of Congress. He also introduced a new incentive targeting elderly voters, claiming that over 20 million seniors on Medicare would receive checks or deposits exceeding $100 starting the following day. However, he omitted details that fewer than a third of Medicare recipients would qualify and that the actual payment amount would be $90.
The president also focused heavily on immigration fears, linking the potential Democratic takeover of Congress to a loosening of border controls. “If they get in, they will open your borders and let the entire world pour in like they did before. We can’t let that happen,” Trump said. He further warned that voting for Talarico would transform Texas into a “dirty, failing, crime-ridden third-world dumping ground.”
Notably absent from the event was Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who is facing a competitive re-election campaign on the same ticket as Paxton. Trump’s primary focus remained on the narrow majorities in the House and Senate, with Texas serving as a critical battleground for maintaining Republican power.
“For decades, Texas has been the state where people flee to escape the economic oppression and social collapse of Democrat-run California, New York, Illinois, and other failing blue states,” Trump said. He concluded by disparaging the prospect of a Democratic victory, adding that he remains uncertain of Talarico’s actual name. “I have no idea what his hell his name is,” Trump admitted. “I just know him as Talafreako.”
Did he really say Talarico vomits because he is forced to eat meat? What an odd focus.
Threatening eternal grudge? That is some childish behavior from a sitting president.
The personal attacks are exhausting. Can we please just discuss policy for once?