A newly resurfaced video from September 2020 shows Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico describing defund-the-police efforts as “really exciting” — directly contradicting his current campaign messaging as a pro-police moderate.
The video captures Talarico in a Zoom call with South Asian American Voter Empowerment (SAAVETX) just weeks after the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots tore through Austin. He told the group the country faced an opportunity to “end the current situation of over-policing communities of color which has been in place in this country since its founding.”
Talarico is now tied in recent polling with Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in the race to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate. A Democratic flip would be the first in decades and would deliver a devastating blow to Republican hopes of holding the Senate majority.
“THAT TO ME IS REALLY EXCITING” — TALARICO ON DEFUNDING POLICE AND REINVESTING IN “COMMUNITY-BASED SOLUTIONS”
The Zoom footage shows Talarico urging policymakers to “listen to black voices and to the activists in the streets calling for a radically different vision of public safety.” He attacked Republicans for wanting to “scare white people to win an election,” calling it “a time-honored tradition in the Republican Party.”
Talarico went further, alleging that “police violence against communities of color, in particular our black community is nothing new, and has its roots in slavery and Jim Crow and mass incarceration.” He added that the 2020 unrest was “just the latest iteration of the history of oppression this country has been a part of against African Americans.”
He said he wanted to gather “activists and advocates to community leaders to law enforcement officials themselves” to discuss “how we can end the current situation of over-policing communities of color which has been in place in this country since its founding.”
Talarico praised Austin city leaders who had just slashed tens of millions of dollars from the Austin Police Department budget. He ripped then-Governor Greg Abbott for threatening financial penalties against cities that defunded police, calling Abbott’s response “hypocritical” and “rich to say the least.”
At the time, Abbott released a statement warning that “Austin’s decision puts the brave men and women of the Austin Police Department and their families at greater risk, and paves the way for lawlessness.” The governor promised financial penalties for any Texas city defunding its police force, saying, “Public safety is job one, and Austin has abandoned that duty.”
Talarico dismissed Abbott’s concerns entirely.
“TO SEE THE GOVERNOR CONTINUE TO TRY TO UNDERMINE OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, I THINK IS RICH TO SAY THE LEAST” — TALARICO DEFENDING AUSTIN’S POLICE-BUDGET CUTS
Republican National Committee spokesperson Zach Kraft tore into Talarico as a “dangerous freak who is willing to endanger the entire state just to prove that he is sufficiently woke.”
Kraft alleged that “James Talarico’s wacked out vision for Texas with no police, no prisons, and no borders would put families in danger and be a paradise for criminal illegal aliens.”
Talarico’s campaign fought back. Spokesperson JT Ennis told Fox News Digital that “James opposes defunding the police, has voted to deny bail for violent criminals, and has a record of sending billions of dollars to support law enforcement.” Ennis called prior assertions that Talarico is pro-defund-the-police a “flat out lie.”
Ennis also said Talarico “supports a secure southern border and has unveiled a border security agenda backed by law enforcement officials from both parties.” He pivoted to attacking Paxton, alleging the attorney general has “abused his office to benefit his wealthy donors and the well-connected, allowing criminals back on the street even as it made Texans less safe.”
Paxton’s campaign spokesperson Madison Cercy fired back, saying Talarico “has the most consistently anti-law enforcement record in the Texas Legislature” and that his campaign is “telling bold-faced lies.”
Cercy said Talarico “donated thousands of dollars to an organization that supported defunding the police and voted against banning personal bond release for people accused of violent crimes.” She added that “just because he votes on a basic spending bill like every other state representative does not mean he has ever ‘supported law enforcement.'”
“If it were up to Talarico,” Cercy continued, “We would hand over our communities to the radicals who pillaged our streets during the 2020 defund the police movement and let criminals out of prison in pursuit of a socialist agenda.”
The resurfaced video arrives as Talarico attempts to rebrand himself as a moderate border-security Democrat ahead of the high-stakes Senate race. Despite a history of controversial statements — including calling God nonbinary and claiming there are six genders — Talarico has positioned himself as pro-police in recent months.
Critics say the 2020 footage destroys that narrative.
