Texas Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico told a podcast in March 2021 that he thinks of himself as "a Christian who hates Christianity", and now that the interview has resurfaced, Republican senators and party officials are making sure voters hear it before November.

The clip went viral after RNC Research posted it on X on June 23, drawing immediate fire from Sen. Tom Cotton, Sen. Ted Cruz, and Sen. Josh Hawley. Talarico's campaign pushed back, calling the attacks a distortion of his faith. But the recording speaks in Talarico's own voice, and the words are hard to spin.

The Federalist first reported the resurfaced interview earlier in the week. The Christian Post detailed the broader context: Talarico made the remarks during an episode of the "Activist Theology Podcast," alongside Roberto (Robyn) Che Espinoza, described as a self-described "TransQueer" activist theologian, and Rev. Anna Golladay, a United Methodist Church minister who is now running for Congress in Tennessee.

What Talarico said, in his own words

Talarico, a state representative and lifelong member of the Presbyterian Church (USA), did not stumble into the phrase. He offered it as a self-description:

"I always think of myself as a Christian who hates Christianity, right?"

He followed that line by saying he keeps getting "drawn back into it" because he finds nothing "nearly as truly radical or revolutionary as the teachings of that barefoot rabbi", his recurring label for Jesus Christ. Talarico has used that phrase repeatedly across public appearances.

The podcast episode also touched on what the Christian Post described as Talarico's belief that the teachings of Christ resemble "the teachings of the Buddha and other mystical traditions", a universalist framework that puts him well outside mainstream Christian orthodoxy. Talarico reportedly identified with the "Christian anarchist tradition" and described himself as a "boring, cis-white man" who "added Presbyterian to spice it up."

This is not the first time Talarico's theological statements have drawn scrutiny. During a 2021 legislative debate, he declared that "God is non-binary." He has also argued that biological sex exists on a "nuanced spectrum." Last month, he reportedly backtracked on some of these assertions, the ones deemed "especially fringe or heretical", though the specifics and timing of that reversal remain unclear.

Republican senators pile on

Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri appeared on The Will Cain Show on Fox News and did not hold back. Hawley told host Will Cain:

"This guy is just so weird, and seeing that he's a Christian who hates Christianity, I think pretty much sums it up. I know this is a guy who believes that men ought to be playing women's sports, and men ought to be in women's locker rooms. I guess maybe we read a different Bible."

Hawley added that Talarico has "got to be the weirdest Senate candidate out there this year for the Democrats, and that is really saying something."

Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas was blunter. In a post on X, Cotton wrote that Talarico "'hating Christianity' explains a lot about his policy positions. What a lying, far-left fraud." Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas posted simply: "This is truly shocking."

The Will Cain Show's X account amplified the exchange on June 24, posting a clip of Hawley's response under the headline: "'THIS GUY IS JUST SO WEIRD.'"

The campaign's defense

Talarico's campaign spokesperson, JT Ennis, responded to Fox News Digital with a statement that tried to reframe the controversy as a bad-faith attack. Ennis said:

"The Christian seminarian who's dedicated his life to the teachings of Jesus Christ obviously doesn't hate Christianity."

Ennis went further, casting Talarico as a fighter against "religious and political corruption" and accusing his Republican opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, of twisting faith for political purposes. The spokesperson said Talarico "will continue encouraging Texans across the political spectrum to come together by loving their neighbors as themselves."

The problem with that defense is the recording itself. Talarico didn't say he hates corruption within Christianity. He didn't say he hates the misuse of Christianity. He said, plainly, that he thinks of himself as "a Christian who hates Christianity." That's a direct quote, not an interpretation.

A pattern, not an isolated remark

The podcast clip does not exist in a vacuum. Breitbart reported that Talarico stated in a New Yorker profile that "Christianity is the most violent religion and has done more damage than Islam." In a 2022 church sermon, he said of abortion restrictions: "Nothing, nothing is more unchristian than that." He has opposed displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools and called school vouchers part of a "Christian Nationalist movement."

Talarico also spoke to the Pakistani American Council of Texas, where he called Trump "a threat to all of us" and expressed solidarity with his "Muslim brothers and sisters." None of this is disqualifying on its own. But taken together, it paints a picture of a candidate who treats his own professed faith as something to be apologized for, deconstructed, and redefined beyond recognition.

His church has also drawn attention. Talarico has faced scrutiny over sexually explicit books found in his church's library, a controversy that further complicates his claim to represent mainstream Christian values to Texas voters.

The Texas Senate race in focus

Talarico secured his Democratic primary victory in March 2026 and will face Ken Paxton in November. Texas is a state where faith still matters in politics, not as a slogan, but as a lived reality for millions of voters who take their Christianity seriously and expect candidates to do the same.

A candidate who tells a progressive podcast audience that he "hates Christianity" while courting church-going voters at rallies faces a credibility gap that no spokesperson statement can bridge. The question isn't whether Talarico's campaign can explain the quote. The question is whether Texas voters will accept the explanation.

The contrast with how the current administration has engaged with faith communities is worth noting. While national leaders have joined thousands at prayer gatherings and openly embraced the role of faith in public life, Talarico's record suggests a very different posture, one that treats traditional Christianity as an obstacle to be overcome rather than a foundation to build on.

Meanwhile, the intersection of religion and government continues to generate debate across Washington. The Pentagon recently hosted a worship service that drew both praise and criticism, underscoring how central faith remains to American public life, and how polarized the conversation around it has become.

What remains unanswered

Several questions hang over this story. Talarico himself has not publicly responded beyond his spokesperson's statement. Did he mean something different from what the plain words convey? If so, he hasn't said what. The full podcast episode remains available, but the campaign has not pointed to additional context that softens the remark.

It's also unclear exactly when and how Talarico backtracked on his prior statements about God being "non-binary" and biological sex existing on a spectrum. The timing, just as a general election campaign heats up, invites skepticism about whether the reversal reflects genuine reflection or political calculation.

Talarico's own recorded words are now the central issue in a high-profile Senate race. No amount of campaign messaging can un-ring that bell.

Voters in Texas will decide whether a man who describes himself as a Christian who hates Christianity deserves to represent a state full of Christians who don't.