MAGA pundit’s smirk wiped from his face on CNN: ‘Conservative doesn’t mean Christian’

A right-wing activist trashed Democratic candidate James Talarico as unelectable in Texas, and a fellow panelist on CNN wiped the smirk from his face.

Anti-trans crusader Terry Schilling ticked off a litany of gender-coded reasons that Talarico, a state representative and former educator, could not defeat scandal-plagued Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, as “CNN This Morning” host Audie Cornish laughed.

“We’ve been told in 2008, in 2014 and 2020, and now in 2026, that Texas is going to turn purple and then turn blue,” Schilling said. “It’s just not going to happen, the demographics aren’t there. The state is very conservative. It’s Christian-oriented, and with Talarico, you have a candidate – I know, I know you you’re shocked that they’re using tofu against him. But this is Texas, and I’ve spent a lot of time in Texas and invest a lot of money in Texas elections. That’s actually devastating for him.”

“You need someone, if the Democrats really wanted to take out any Republican in that state, Ted Cruz or even Paxton, they would nominate an oil man,” Schilling added. “They would nominate someone that’s out there working on the oil rigs, not some leftist professor or leftist teacher from from Austin who says that the incarnation of Christ justifies abortion. It’s crazy.”

Through her laughter, Cornish took note of the language Schilling used to attack Talarico.

“All your fighting words, ‘Austin,’ ‘teacher’ – yuck,” Cornish chuckled. “Texas is the white whale for Democrats. Also true, Trump-backed candidates that didn’t do so well in a state like Georgia, a southern state where maybe the Democrats, the demographics weren’t supposed to work out in his favor, and now there are Democratic senators there. So do Democrats feel like this is the year?”

Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright addressed Schilling’s smears before answering the host’s question.

“Conservative does not mean Christian,” Seawright said, as Schilling grinned. “GOP does not mean ‘God’s only party.’ I want to just say that to my dear friend to my right here.”

Schilling’s grin faded at the confrontation, and Seawright turned his attention to the general election matchup.

“Politics is a game of matchups, and when you have an indicted election denier who helped lead the effort to overturn the 2020 election and someone who is impeached, I think we welcome that to the conversation,” he said. “I think that Democrats are well-positioned to take advantage of a very fertile environment, not only because Republicans have failed in Washington, but also, I think people in Texas are feeling the residue of the failed leadership in Washington, and I think that matters in this environment.”