Talarico’s Biden Border Claim Draws Scrutiny

James Talarico’s new campaign ad says he challenged former President Joe Biden over border security, but the campaign did not provide a public example of such criticism when asked, according to reporting cited in the supplied accounts. The claim has drawn attention to Talarico’s earlier remarks criticizing Texas border spending and enforcement as he runs for the U.S. Senate. In the ad, released Monday, Talarico says, “I called out Joe Biden for failing us on the border.” His campaign did not provide an example of him publicly criticizing Biden on border policy during Biden’s presidency. That reported absence does not establish that no such statement exists. A central point of comparison is a 2019 interview with The Austin Chronicle. Talarico said he would rather redirect Texas’s $800 million border-security budget to public education. The amount covered two years. He also described boats, planes and border agents as expensive and ineffective, and characterized the spending as political grandstanding. The ad’s message contrasts with those earlier comments, though they address different actions: the ad claims Talarico criticized Biden, while the 2019 interview concerned Texas...