David French catches flak for claiming Talarico, a pro-abortion Democrat, 'acts like a Christian'

New York Times opinion writer David French, a self-described evangelical conservative, has made a habit out of supporting radical leftists over those Republican officials who have time and again delivered meaningful results for the causes of life and liberty.

French announced in 2024, for example, that he was supporting then-candidate Kamala Harris over President Donald Trump "to save conservatism."

'French always saves his most demonic takes for Sunday morning columns.'

The former National Review writer's rationale was that the GOP supposedly wouldn't survive another Trump term but could be rebuilt as a "force for genuine good" in the event that Harris — an advocate for abortion, child sex-rejection procedures, and infringements on the Second Amendment — won.

Although his propaganda didn't work in 2024, French clearly hasn't given up on promoting radical leftists and is now promoting James Talarico, the Democrat state representative hoping to succeed Republican John Cornyn in the U.S. Senate.

French — who has not only embraced homosexual "marriage" but also non-Christian speech codes about gender — claimed in an editorial on Sunday that "Talarico shines" as "one of the few openly Christian politicians in the United States who acts like a Christian, and by acting like a Christian he reveals a profound contrast with so many members of the MAGA Christian movement that’s dominated American political life for 10 years."

French proffered Talarico's Senate primary victory speech, during which he criticized competition, as an example of the Democrat's supposed Christianity in action, "right heart," and loving ways.

"I am tired of being pitted against my neighbor. I’m tired of being told to hate my neighbor. It’s been more than 10 years of this kind of politics," said Talarico. "Politics as blood sport, politics as trolling and owning, politics as total war. It tears families apart. It ends friendships, and it leaves us all feeling terrible all the time."

RELATED: Democrats swapped Crockett’s preening for Talarico’s pulpit — and it worked

Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Image

Though gushing about Talarico's supposed Christian decency and compassionate public face, French neglected to mention any of the Democrat's nastier remarks about those political opponents and fellow Christians with whom he fundamentally disagrees.

Talarico previously suggested, for example, that Trump is a "business cheat, a pathological liar, a serial adulterer, a twice-impeached insurrectionist, a convicted felon, an adjudicated rapist," many of whose supporters "have forgotten all about Jesus."

Trump sued ABC News over host George Stephanopoulos' false on-air assertion that the president had been found civilly liable for rape. Per the terms of the late 2024 settlement, ABC News ultimately agreed to pay $15 million toward Trump's presidential library.

Despite the apparent narrowness of Talarico's love and understanding, French — making no secret of his soft spot for Cornyn and hard liking for Talarico — presented the Democrat challenger as the supposedly virtuous antithesis of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

French's case relies not only on selective outrage and his apparent ability to judge the hearts of men but on severing both candidates from their relevant activities, namely their work in office.

"For too long we've evaluated Christians in politics primarily through their policy positions," wrote French. "Yet this is exactly backward."

French expressed outrage over Paxton's failed marriage and portrayed him as an exemplar of vice while strategically ignoring Talarico's:

• support for the dehumanization and elimination of the unborn, as signaled by his 0% score on the Texas Right to Life's pro-life scorecard and his correlated recognition as "a Pro-Choice Champion" by the Texas Choice Tracker;
• attempted use of scripture, specifically Genesis 2:7 and the Annunciation, to justify the slaughter of the unborn;
• votes against sparing children from sex-rejection mutilations as well as against keeping men out of girls' sports;
• claim that displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms is "deeply un-Christian";
• claim that the Supreme Court's Dobbs ruling was effectively "un-Christian";
• claim that God is "non-binary";
• claim that there are six sexes, despite the clear assertion in Genesis, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them";
• complaint that "Republican politicians are banning drag queens in the name of protecting children"; and
• claim that "you can't call yourself a Christian and destroy God's creation with greenhouse gases."

Critics blasted French over his commentary, suggesting that his understanding of "decency" is confused if not outright deceptive.

Radio host Erick Erickson noted, "It is not decent to twist scripture to lead others to hell. It is not decent to claim whiteness itself is like a virus. It is not decent to use Christ’s conception as a justification for abortion. It is not decent to reduce women to 'neighbors with uteruses.' Only if you have been radicalized by your critics can you land at this position."

'Your affectionate uncle, Screwtape.'

"David French is endorsing a guy who wants free abortion mills in every courthouse and who also claims God is trans," wrote Sean Davis, CEO of the Federalist. "That French always saves his most demonic takes for Sunday morning columns is a pretty good indicator of who he actually worships now."

William Wolfe, executive director for the Center for Baptist Leadership, alluded to the conspiring demons in C.S Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters," writing, "Now tell them that pro-abortion, pro-child mutilation politician who preaches that God is non-binary is a 'shining' example of a Christian. Your affectionate uncle, Screwtape."

Weeks prior to French's opinion piece, BlazeTV host Steve Deace suggested that Talarico was an "object and a vessel of malevolence. All right? When he speaks, he's not deceived; he's the deceiver. ... He is who Paul would have said in Acts, 'You are a son of the devil.' He knows what he is doing."