Republicans attacked James Talarico over ‘God is nonbinary.’ He says Charlie Kirk made the same point

Texas U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico said he was being “provocative” when he said “God is nonbinary.” But he defended the underlying theological argument, saying the late conservative commentator Charlie Kirk also believed God could not be defined by human categories.

The Democrat addressed his 2021 comment, which Republicans have repeatedly used to attack him, during a televised town hall Wednesday hosted by CNN and Jubilee. He also discussed abortion rights, gender-affirming care, immigration, and a range of other policy issues.

A question about gender and theology came from voter Sarah Gardner, who said she had concerns rooted in her faith about his past comments on “things such as God is nonbinary, questions about how many genders there really are, and your justifications using the Bible for abortion.”

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Talarico said he agreed with Gardner on an important point. He said God is an “absolute source of truth.” But he added that Christians have disagreed about how to apply the Gospel since the faith’s earliest days.

“We as Christians, you and I are both members of the body of Christ. You are my sister in Christ,” he said. “And it’s okay if you and I have disagreements about our interpretations of Scripture or certainly about political and policy topics. That should be encouraged, not discouraged. And we can do that as we’re called to do in Scripture, do it with love.”

He then said he wanted to clarify his prior comments about gender.

“I know that this has been used in these attack ads all over the state. The first comment about God not being defined by gender, when I said that I was being provocative, and I want to admit that and come clean about that,” he said. “But I think what I was saying is actually not controversial theologically, the idea that we can’t define God using human categories. Not only did I say that, but the late Charlie Kirk said that. The late Pope Benedict said that. And so, yes, I was doing it maybe in an annoying way. I can admit that.”

Another participant, professor Stacy Vasquez, questioned Talarico about his support for restricting gender-affirming surgeries for minors, despite voting against a broader ban on gender-affirming care in the Texas Legislature. He defended his support for a national ban on those surgeries for people under 18.

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“When it comes to kids, as a policymaker, I always have to balance two things. One is protecting children and honoring the rights of parents, because I believe that parental rights are sacred, and we should trust parents to raise their kids. But if there’s something that’s going to endanger a child or a minor, certainly something that could cause permanent damage, then I’m always going to try to err on the side of protecting those kids,” he said.

He said that the discussion "requires nuance and thoughtfulness."

He added, "In the state legislature, the Republican majority tried to pass an extreme ban that would go after all kinds of different forms of health care, not just gender reassignment surgeries. I actually supported an amendment to that bill to limit the legislation to just banning surgeries for those under the age of 18."

Gender-affirming care for transgender minors is supported as evidence-based medical care by major medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Endocrine Society. Care is individualized and can include mental health support and, following clinical evaluation, puberty blockers for adolescents who have begun puberty or hormone therapy for some adolescents.

Gender-affirming surgeries are rarely performed on minors; those that occur are predominantly chest surgeries. Most chest surgeries in the U.S. are performed on cisgender minors. A 2024 study analyzing 2019 insurance claims found that, among cisgender boys and transgender and gender-diverse minors, 97 percent of breast reductions were performed on cisgender boys to treat gynecomastia, or enlarged breast tissue.

Related: After conservative attacks on James Talarico's identity backfired, they’re now targeting his church

Jodi Hunt, a farmer and educator, raised abortion, describing herself as a single-issue voter and asking how Talarico would represent voters who oppose abortion. Talarico pointed to religious leaders whose opposition to abortion he respects, even as he disagrees with them on whether it should be legal.

Citing "my spiritual heroes, like Pope Francis and Pope Leo," Talarico said they oppose not only abortion, but also poverty, climate change, and other important issues facing humanity.

“We’re both Christians and the Bible is silent on the issue of abortion," Talarico said. "It means you and I both have to look at different scriptures to try to come to a conclusion. But what I think we can do is actually come together on reducing the number of unplanned pregnancies and the number of abortions, because if we treat this issue as a public health problem and not a culture war problem, then we can actually make progress together.”