President Donald Trump said early Friday that Republicans were “looking good” going into the midterms. But a few hours earlier, on Thursday, in a much longer post, Trump railed against Sen. John Cornyn and Karl Rove, saying they would be to blame if Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton lost the race.
The Texas senate race has been a source of agita for Republicans, and Trump kept up his attacks on Democratic candidate James Talarico overnight, calling him “James TalaFREAKO” and saying he had “recently stated” that “FOSSIL FUELS ARE DESTROYING THE PLANET” in his race against Trump-backed Republican Ken Paxton. The quote dates to 2022.
“In other words, no more drilling for Oil in Texas,” Trump wrote. “That should be the end of his campaign!!!”
Trump described Paxton, by contrast, as “the greatest Attorney General in the history of Texas.”
Talarico made the fossil fuels remark in February 2022 during a virtual discussion about the deadly 2021 Winter Storm Uri and the Texas power grid. In the same conversation, he acknowledged the economic value of oil and gas to many Texans, including his own family, and said, “It’s time to transition.”
A review of the retrieved clips, campaign material and public remarks found no evidence that Talarico repeated the line in 2026. Talarico’s 2026 energy platform does not call for ending drilling in Texas.
At a CNN/Jubilee town hall on Wednesday, Talarico said he supported Texas' oil and gas industry and an "all of the above energy strategy."
"I will stand up to my own party if they mess with our oil and gas industry, and I will stand up to the other party if they mess with renewables," he said.
Trump has made this attack before. In a Sept. 18 video endorsing Paxton, he said Talarico “would vote to abolish the Texas oil and gas industry with the Green New Scam.”
Trump has also made clear who he would blame if Talarico wins: "If Ken Paxton loses, it will be because of WEAK and INEFFECTIVE Political Hacks like John Cornyn and Karl Rove, who have ineffectively opposed me for my entire political career."