Texas Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico was caught on video describing a “Christofascism movement” as he criticized legislation restricting gender-affirming care for transgender minors and the state’s abortion law.

During an appearance on Texas Impact’s Weekly Witness, Talarico argued that legislation restricting gender-affirming care for transgender minors and Texas’s abortion ban stemmed from what he called a “Christofascism movement.” [Watch Video Here:]

“You saw it in the anti-LGBTQ legislation, including the bill that would have denied gender-affirming health care to trans children,” Talarico said. “And then, of course, famously, infamously, we saw it last session with the most extreme abortion ban in the country. All of these ideologies stem from this Christofascism movement.”

Talarico has repeatedly criticized Christian nationalism in sermons and interviews. In a 2023 sermon, he called it “the worship of power, social power, economic power, political power, in the name of Christ.”

He further argued that Christians had turned Jesus into “a gun-toting, gay-bashing, science-denying, money-loving, fear-mongering fascist.”

Talarico further characterized Christian nationalism as having reared “its ugly head” in Texas, pointing to proposals requiring the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms, replacing school counselors with religious chaplains, and teaching Bible stories as historical fact in elementary schools.

“So this is a very real live situation here in Texas and I felt the need to not only address it politically here at the state capitol, which I’ve done on the House floor, but also address it theologically, and I felt the best place to do that was my home church,” Talarico said.