James Talarico, the Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Texas, used an interview with Jimmy Kimmel to challenge the version of Christianity embraced by MAGA politicians, arguing it bears little resemblance to the teachings of Jesus.
The conversation took place after Kimmel’s show was pushed to YouTube amid what Kimmel described as FCC pressure over the network’s decision to host political candidates. Kimmel opened by noting this wasn’t the first time Talarico had been “demoted to YouTube,” referencing a prior appearance on Stephen Colbert’s show that faced similar treatment.
Kimmel raised the idea that Jesus has been “co-opted by this MAGA enterprise,” asking, “Would Jesus be throwing people into vans and separating them from their children? Would Jesus be taking kids off food stamps? These are not… the Jesus that I learned about growing up.”
Talarico agreed and responded by invoking Reverend Raphael Warnock. “I think it was Reverend Raphael Warnock who said that Jesus Christ is the most famous target of identity theft,” Talarico said.
He continued, “The kind of religion that says you can treat people however you want as long as you have a personal relationship with Jesus is an abomination. It is a cancer on the body of Christ. Scripture tells us that you can’t love God and h[]te other people. You can’t love God and abuse the immigrant. You can’t love God and oppress the poor. You can’t love God and bully the outcast.”
He pointed to Matthew 25 as the standard by which Christians will be judged, “by feeding the hungry, by healing the sick, by welcoming the stranger.”
Talarico then imagined Jesus addressing the U.S. Senate directly: “Depart from me, for I was hungry and you cut my food assistance. I was sick and you kicked me off Medicaid. I was a stranger and you deported me and my family.”
He added that Jesus would then “flip over those fancy desks on the floor of the U.S. Senate and demand that we take care of all of our neighbors, especially the least of these.”
The exchange tied into Talarico’s campaign slogan, “It’s time to start flipping tables,” a reference to Jesus overturning tables in the temple. “When his neighbors were being hurt by powerful people, he didn’t stay in his room and pray,” Talarico said. “He walked into the seat of power and he flipped over the tables of injustice. It was an act of civil disobedience on behalf of his neighbors.”
Talarico, an eighth-generation Texan and current seminary student training to become a minister, said his family has deep roots in the faith, noting his grandfather was a Baptist preacher and that he still attends the church where he was baptized as a child.
