State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, speaks during a campaign event in San Antonio. Credit: Michael Karlis
State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, who’s running for U.S. Senate in Texas, ripped President Trump’s “reckless” foreign policy and escalating clash with Iran during a Thursday TV appearance.
In an interview on MS NOW’s The Briefing with Jen Psaki, Talarico was asked what his thoughts were on rhetoric seeping out of the White House that the ongoing war in Iran amounts to “short-term pain for long-term gain.”
“I’d like them to tell that to the parents of the American troops who have lost their lives,” Talarico said. “That is not short-term pain. That is pain that will last forever. And for the president of the United States to recklessly send our men and women in uniform to the Middle East for another forever war is unconscionable.”
Last week, the U.S. joined Israel in devastating air strikes on Iran for what appears to be an effort to topple Islamic fundamentalist regime. However, the White House has offered myriad and murky reasons to justify its involvement in the war.
Although Iran’s longtime spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, died early in the bombardment, the regime doesn’t appear to be surrendering anytime soon, and there’s been no sign of an uprising inside the country. Instead, Iran has expanded the quarrel into a regional conflict, launching ballistic missiles and drones attacks at sensitive targets in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Bahrain and Kuwait.
Iran has also stopped traffic in the Strait of Hormuz — a narrow waterway through which 20% of the world’s oil travels — which has sent oil prices soaring to around $100 a barrel.
“We should be taking this money that’s being wasted on bombs on the other side of the world, bring it back home here to invest in our communities, to fund schools, to fund healthcare, to lower prices,” said Talarico, a former teacher at San Antonio’s Rhodes Middle School. “That’s why the president was elected in 2024, to lower costs. He wasn’t elected to start another forever war.”
In November’s general election, Talarico will face either incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn or Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who are locked an increasingly heated GOP runoff.
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