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Straight White American Jesus

Is James Talarico a "Liberal" Christian Nationalist?

Straight White American Jesus

Axis Mundi Media: Bradley Onishi + Daniel Miller

Politics, News

4.7 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 17 March 2026

⏱️ 33 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode, Brad Onishi takes on a provocative question: is James Talarico really a “liberal Christian nationalist,” as critics on both the right and left have claimed following his primary victory over Jasmine Crockett? Drawing on the widely cited definition from sociologists Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry, the episode breaks down what Christian nationalism actually is: a fusion of Christian and American identity, a belief in divine sanction for political domination, and a moral framework that privileges Christians as uniquely legitimate citizens. Onishi argues that simply being a religious politician—or even using theological language in public debate—does not meet this threshold, pushing back on claims from figures like William Wolfe and C.J. Engel, as well as critiques from scholars like Heath Carter. Through close analysis of Talarico’s own words and political theology, the episode contends that his emphasis on pluralism, the separation of church and state, and universal human dignity stands in direct opposition to Christian nationalist ideology. Rather than advocating for a theocratic state or privileging Christians above others, Talarico frames his faith as a call to inclusive democracy and care for all neighbors. Onishi warns that labeling figures like Talarico as “Christian nationalists” risks flattening important distinctions and obscuring the anti-democratic aims of actual Christian nationalist movements. The result is a deeper exploration of how faith can show up in politics without undermining democracy—and why precision in our language matters now more than ever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Axis Mundy

0:10.0

Bowser is back.

0:16.0

Ha ha ha!

0:17.0

Everyone calm down.

0:21.6

The Super Mario Brothers can take care of the kingdom.

0:24.6

Let's go.

0:26.6

On April 1st, Toad, pack our things.

0:29.6

Woohoo!

0:30.6

The Galaxy is waiting.

0:33.6

Who is this?

0:35.6

Yes he?

0:36.6

So some cool dinosaur just shows up and he's now part of the group.

0:39.5

Cool.

0:40.2

The Super Mario Galaxy movie only in cinema's April 1st.

0:44.8

Is James Talleyko a liberal Christian nationalist?

0:49.0

Since he won his victory over Jasmine Crockett, there have been people on the left and on the right who've

0:54.5

claimed that Talley Rico's faith makes him nothing more than a Christian nationalist on the left,

1:01.0

just as bad as those on the right.

1:03.9

Today, I want to talk about if that's true, if it holds up, and what it means. Welcome to Straight White American Jesus.

1:24.6

I'm Brad Onishi, author of American Caesar,

1:32.6

how theocrats and tech lords are turning America into a monarchy, founder of Access Mundi Media,

1:39.0

co-host of this show. A couple of weeks ago, James Teller Rico won his primary victory over Jasmine Crockett. He is now the Democratic candidate for Senate in Texas. And since his victory, there have been people who have come out to say that Tala Rico, who talks about his faith all the time,

...

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