One of the things I look for on Fridays is topics that will send us into the weekend on a lighter note. In some respects, everything about James Talarico (D-Texas) is lighter, but don’t make the mistake of taking him lightly. He’s got a lot of money behind him, paying for things like pickup truck rentals.
According to reports, the theater kid running for the U.S. Senate in Texas has been discovered once again as a phony. Talarico’s campaign confirmed that the Dodge Ram-1500 pickup truck he’s seen driving in his latest campaign ad is not his. It’s a rental, requisitioned solely as a prop for this ad.
.@jamestalarico is out with this new #TXSen ad this morning: pic.twitter.com/kBh3cDv0fO
— Brad Johnson (@bradj_TX) July 21, 2026
I’m told that there’s nothing Texans like more than a faker, and so aiming to give his voters what they want, Talarico perhaps sat on a booster seat to get behind the wheel of that Texas-sized pickup for the filming of the ad.
Oddly enough, the candidate has previously claimed he actually owns a Chevy Colorado, which for some reason he didn't use for this ad. Since nothing about Talarico ever pans out to come up to the full truth, I even wonder about his claims of that Chevy truck.
It’s not a stretch to speculate that the creatives behind the ad totally underestimated what renting a pickup would do to their candidate if word got out about it. It’s also not a stretch to presume they made that creative choice because a bigger truck would make Talarico look more manly and more Texan, both of which are major challenges for him. Most Texans don’t particularly see him as representative of Texas men.
Maybe that’s why he’s been covering his helmet hair of late with a cowboy hat and taking a page out of Pete Buttigieg’s playbook by trying to grow facial hair.
Here's the Dem "Brokeback Mountain" Senate candidate James Talarico pretending he's a Texan.
— Ben Hart (@BenHart_Freedom) June 3, 2026
He would be better off just being who is rather than slappin' on a spankin' new Texas cowboy hat, sportin' this new 5 O'clock shadow, and driving around in a Chevy pick-up truck in a… pic.twitter.com/63ctoJd2FJ
It wasn’t a great week for Talarico on the manliness front. Tweets of his from Christmas Day 2021 resurfaced where he fangirled over Anthony Fauci after receiving a Fauci action doll from Santa Claus.
"I got the coolest action figure for Christmas!" Talarico tweeted. "Thank you to all the health care superheroes working today. Let’s help by getting vaxxed and boosted!"
I got the coolest action figure for Christmas!
— James Talarico (@jamestalarico) December 25, 2021
Thank you to all the health care superheroes working today. Let’s help by getting vaxxed and boosted! 🎄💉 pic.twitter.com/tVWUrE5lyV
Every time Talarico and his campaign attempt to tell the rest of the world that they’re not seeing what they’re seeing, it backfires. Without even getting into his dubious track record and claims regarding his understanding of religion in general, and Christianity in particular, this whole manliness thing has become a problem of his own making.
Why can’t he just be himself? Because, as my colleague Matt Margolis has reported, everyone knows, including his campaign apparently, that Texans don’t want to vote for a set of pronouns.
Reader’s Note: Find out what you’re missing behind the members-only wall. It’s time for you to take advantage of the full catalogue of common-sense thinking that comes with a PJ Media VIP membership. You’ll get access to content you didn’t even know you wanted, and you’ll be hooked. The good news is, PJ Media VIP memberships are on sale! Get 60% off of an annual VIP, VIP Gold, or VIP Platinum membership! Use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off a VIP membership!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member