Fox News host Will Cain is disputing the characterization of his interview with Democrat lawmaker James Talarico, who claimed on social media that the television host had cut their television discussion short.
“I just went on FOX News to tell the truth about the redistricting power grab in Texas. I asked a simple question. If Republican policies are so popular, why do they need to redraw these maps? Why not run on their policies? He refused to answer and cut the interview early,” Talarico said in a post on X on Tuesday of this week.
That social media post was cited in The Daily Beast and Mediate that ran articles with the headlines “FOX News host rages at Democrat after abruptly ending interview,” and “Texas Democrat and FOX’s Will Cain trade blows online after producer dumps out a fiery 10-minute interview.”
Cain addressed the incident on his show commenting: “I don’t remember dumping out of the interview. I don’t remember cutting off Representative Talarico.”
The Fox News host then played the end of his interview with the Texas state lawmaker, which showed Cain signaling he had to close for time.
“I’m getting wrapped on time. I’m enjoying this conversation. I want to let it go on, and I apologize. Such is the nature of cable television,” Cain said in response to Talarico’s question about why Texas Republicans were redrawing their map if their policies were so popular near the end of Talarico’s segment.
The Fox News host signed off the interview by saying, “I appreciate you being on the show. You’re welcome to be here in Texas sitting across the table from me, hopefully soon when you return to take the votes.”
The two men then briefly discussed breakfast tacos and the fact that Talarico was in Illinois rather than Texas in an effort to prevent Republicans from redistricting the red state.
Cain had harsh words for the Texas lawmaker when he later commented on Talarico’s social media post and the media characterization of the interview on his show.
“Well, being mad at the media is like being mad at a pig for being a dirty animal. It’s just who they are. But a politician, a man of the cloth, someone who went to seminary and holds themselves out as the goodwill future of the Democrat Party, we can expect more and I expected more from Representative James Talarico,” Cain said of the Texas representative, who is a seminary graduate affiliated with the liberal mainline Presbyterian Church.
Cain also called the Texas state representative dishonest.
“Now, I don’t know what the voters of Round Rock, Texas, think about what it means to be a Texan. But if Talarico is any evidence, it means being a fraud, a fake man of the cloth, someone who’s as comfortable lying as he is breathing or as comfortable lying as he is running to Illinois,” Cain contended.
Talarico has been profiled as a rising star in the Democratic Party, has appeared on the Joe Rogan podcast, and is reportedly considering a bid for higher office in the Lone Star State. Talarico has made his unique pedigree as a seminary graduate a staple of his public persona.
That religious background has not always translated to support for expressions of faith in the public square. For example, Talarico opposed a Texas bill that would have mandated that the Ten Commandments be in every public school classroom in Texas.
Talarico’s state legislative office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.