It is hard to understand how MS NOW can call itself a news network. Show after show, the network functions as pure promotion for Democrats while attacking Republicans, with no attempt to present the other side. That is not journalism. That is activism with a studio set.
On the August 3, 2026 episode of The Rachel Maddow Show, Rachel Maddow opened her program the same way she usually does: by attacking Republicans and elevating Democrats. She spent the first segment hammering “troubled” Republican candidates and officeholders, highlighting alleged scandals, ethics complaints, and personal controversies while offering zero equivalent criticism of any Democrat.
She was in promotion mode, warning that Republicans are “desperate” for people not to hear James Talarico speak before bringing the Texas Democratic Senate candidate on as her guest.
This wasn’t journalism. It was partisan activism dressed up as a news show. Maddow continues to operate as a reliable Democratic operative on what has become one of the most predictable platforms in cable “news.”
Maddow presented Talarico as the man who can beat Ken Paxton and flip Texas blue. That is pure campaign talk. She played a TikTok video in which he said:
The president of the United States just said that I insulted Jesus.
You wanna know what insults Jesus?
Kicking the sick off their healthcare while cutting taxes for billionaires?
You know what insults Jesus? Deporting the stranger and separating babies from their mothers?
You know what insults Jesus? Bombing innocent school children in Iran and sending our brave men and women off to die in another forever war.
You know what insults Jesus? Covering up the Epstein files and then refusing to prosecute a single person in them?
This is progressive political theater, not theology. Jesus never endorsed government-run healthcare or progressive tax policy. Framing routine immigration enforcement as an insult to Jesus ignores what the Bible teaches about government. Scripture makes clear that governing authorities are established by God to maintain order and punish wrongdoing. Enforcing a nation’s laws — including its borders — is not an insult to Jesus. It is part of the authority God has given civil government.
On the Iran claim, we do not even know if the specific “school children” story is true as presented. What is well documented is that the Iranian regime has repeatedly placed military assets, personnel, and equipment inside or next to civilian sites, including schools. This is a classic human-shield tactic that violates the Geneva Conventions. When a regime deliberately embeds military targets among civilians, it is the regime that is endangering those civilians.
On Epstein, the claim that the files were covered up and that “not a single person” was prosecuted is false. Ghislaine Maxwell was prosecuted and convicted. Other associates faced legal consequences. Donald Trump has pushed publicly for greater transparency on the Epstein material.
Trump banned Jeffrey Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after learning of his inappropriate behavior involving young women connected to the club. Reporting and Trump’s own statements describe Epstein harassing or hitting on the teenage daughter of a club member, pressuring young spa staff, and repeatedly “stealing” employees from Mar-a-Lago after being warned. Trump threw Epstein out and banned him from the property.
Maddow noted that the TikTok had 24.3 million views and treated that as proof of Talarico’s strength. Viral online numbers measure algorithmic reach among progressive audiences. They do not measure the ability to win actual Texas voters in the places that decide statewide elections.
She highlighted that Joe Rogan told Talarico he should run for president. That happened. It is hard to see why Rogan would say that. More importantly, why should the opinion of one podcast host be treated as evidence that Talarico is qualified to be president?
Maddow is scraping the bottom of the barrel for a man who, the more you listen to him, the more he comes across as a far-left nutjob who will force taxpayers to pay for child sex changes, raise your taxes, open the Texas border, and push the Democratic Party’s radical agenda.
Maddow also promoted Talarico’s viral opposition to posting the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms, praising him for arguing that it was not only unconstitutional but unchristian. That is the milder version of his theology. Talarico has gone much further.
He has used the story of the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary to justify abortion, arguing that because Mary supposedly gave “consent,” “creation has to be done with consent” and “you cannot force someone to create.” That turns the Incarnation of Jesus into a progressive talking point on abortion.
On transgender issues involving children, Talarico voted against the 2023 Texas bill that banned puberty blockers, hormones, and gender-transition procedures for minors. At the time he said the ban “infuriates me,” called it one of the most dangerous bills, and declared that it was “not about science or medicine, and certainly not about keeping kids safe.” During a 2021 legislative debate targeting transgender athletes, he claimed that modern science recognizes “many more than two biological sexes—in fact, there are six.”
If you believe children should be allowed to permanently change their sex and have their private parts surgically mutilated — and that Texas taxpayers should pay for it — then James Talarico is your candidate. If you think Jesus wants people to kill their babies, he is your candidate. Claiming there are six biological sexes is not progressive. It is detached from basic biology and reality.
Republicans want Texas voters to hear him use Christianity to defend abortion, insist that there are six biological sexes, oppose protections barring medical gender transitions for minors, and portray tax cuts and immigration enforcement as insults to Jesus. The more Talarico speaks, the less the polished, media-created image resembles the radical record underneath it.
That is why Maddow spent the segment promoting his viral videos, praising his communication skills, reciting his campaign accomplishments, dismissing his opponents as frightened, and presenting him as someone who could shape the future of the Democratic Party.
She did not seriously challenge his record. She did not press him on his most extreme statements. She did not present the Republican response or allow viewers to hear the other side. She introduced him, promoted him, defended him, and then handed him the stage.
She also mentioned his appearance on The View, which triggered an FCC equal-time investigation, and the Colbert interview that CBS would not air on broadcast. The equal-time rule exists for a reason: once a station gives airtime to one candidate for office, opposing candidates can demand a comparable opportunity. That is why the networks became cautious. The Colbert interview still raised money from the national progressive base on YouTube, which is not the same as persuading Texas voters.
The entire Maddow segment was not analysis. It was a campaign commercial delivered by Rachel Maddow. MS NOW can continue calling itself a news network, but real journalists examine political candidates. Campaign operatives market them.
Rachel Maddow did not cover James Talarico’s campaign. She joined it.
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