Talarico slithered around the truth at his town hall. Here’s the gaslighting he tried to pull.

Radical Democrat James Talarico attempted to woo Republicans and independents at a town hall in Fort Worth on Wednesday as he attempts to turn a Texas U.S. Senate seat blue for the first time in more than 30 years.

This attempt evidently relied on deception.

'That industry is not gonna last.'

In addition to claiming that "the Bible is silent on the issue of abortion," Talarico made a number of other eyebrow-raising statements at the event hosted by CNN and Jubilee.

One of the Texas voters in attendance asked the Democrat about border security, "regardless of what party was in the White House," and whether federal law should require the removal of illegal aliens who have no basis to stay in the country.

"Texans understand this issue of immigration better than most people around the country because we live with it," Talarico replied. "We live with the challenges, and we live with the benefits."

After stating that "both political parties have failed us on this issue," casting shade on the Biden administration's "unacceptable" handling of the border crisis and criticizing some Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics, Talarico identified himself as a "border security Democrat."

This purported "border security Democrat" apparently was counting on the audience to overlook the fact that he:

• states on his campaign website that "our border should be like a front porch" with a "welcome mat out front and a lock on the door" and that certain illegal aliens should have a pathway to legalization;
• advocated in 2019 for diverting Texas' $800 million two-year border security budget to public education, claiming that "putting a bunch of boats, planes, and border patrol agents on the physical border" "does not solve the problem" and amounts ultimately to "political grandstanding";
• shared documents in 2019 advising foreigners how to "fight back" against ICE;
• condemned some of Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's efforts to secure the southern border, calling them "atrocities";
• voted in 2021 against a bill that provided an additional $1.8 billion in state funding for border security over a two-year period;
• voted in 2023 against a bill that aimed at beefing up border security and cracking down on transnational criminal activity;
• voted in 2023 against a bill that would have expanded the law enforcement authority of federal immigration agents in Texas; and
• voted in 2023 against a bill that made illegal entry into Texas from an alien nation a state crime.

The Border Patrol Union's National Border Patrol Council said Wednesday, "JAMES TALARICO DOES NOT SUPPORT BORDER SECURITY: Talarico’s false claim that he called out the Biden Administration for failing on the border is nothing more than a #FakeNews political ad."

RELATED: Talarico gets DEMOLISHED after he cites Bible in defense of abortion

Danielle Villasana/Getty Images

In addition to masquerading as a proponent of strong security at the southern border, Talarico played the role of an ICE supporter at Wednesday's town hall.

CNN talking head Erin Burnett asked the Democrat, "Do you support abolishing ICE or not?"

"No," replied Talarico. "And I never have."

He did, however, lead a "Stop ICE rally" in January, accuse ICE of "terrorizing our country," and implore Texans to rise up against the federal agency and "fight back."

After boasting about previously having taught illegal alien students, Talarico said in his lengthy speech at the January anti-ICE rally in Austin, "It is time to tear down this secret police force and replace it with an agency that is actually going to promote public safety."

Talarico further denied ICE's legitimacy, demanded that ICE agents be hauled before Congress, and claimed that the agency was "deporting the very people who keep our economy running."

The same Democrat who months ago demanded ICE's "replace[ment]" told Burnett on Wednesday, "We need Immigration and Customs Enforcement in this country."

In an apparent attempt to reconcile the two statements, Talarico claimed that "what we've seen over the last year is a secret police force, and that's what we don't want in this country."

Talarico also tried to pull a fast one Wednesday regarding his past criticism of capitalism.

Burnett noted that at a Sierra Club event in September 2020, the Democrat said that capitalism is an "oppressive system" in need of dismantling. The CNN talking head then questioned Talarico's current identification as a proud capitalist.

"If you go back and listen to the conversation that we were having, I was talking about the system we have now, which is actually not capitalism. It's crony capitalism," Talarico said.

Talarico does not appear to have specified that he was criticizing "crony capitalism" at the Sierra Club event in 2020. Rather, he highlighted the supposed link between "climate change and white supremacy and capitalism in our country."

"I think only understanding the ways that all three of those oppressive systems work together are we going to be able to begin the process of dismantling them," Talarico said at the time.

A spokesperson for Talarico told the Texas Scorecard last month that "James is a proud capitalist and agrees with the majority of Texans that racism, natural disasters, and a billionaire-controlled economy are all problems we need to address."

Madison Cercy, a spokeswoman for the campaign of Talarico's Republican opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, said that "James Talarico is a democratic socialist who wants to destroy economic opportunity, ban oil and gas, and raise taxes to pay for his radical agenda."

Talarico, who told Burnett that he wants to return to old-school capitalism, also claimed at the town hall that "if the Democratic Party is going after the good-paying oil and gas jobs here in Texas, I'm going to stand up against them."

Yet Talarico said during the same Sierra Club event, "We all know that Texas has been a leader in oil and gas, but in many ways that's like being the leader in cassette tapes in the 1980s," CNN reported.

"That industry is not going to last. And if we want to ensure we have an economy that's going to work for our children and our children's children, we gotta be ahead of the curve, and Texas has to lead instead of follow on this issue," Talarico added.

This supposed friend of the oil and gas industry claimed in 2022 that "fossil fuels are destroying the planet" and suggested that Texas should "transition" to so-called renewables.

The Talarico campaign did not immediately respond to Blaze News' request for comment.

Blaze Poll Watch presently shows Talarico leading Paxton 48.1%-45.1%.

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