MAGA podcaster Joshua Haymes and pastor Brooks Potteiger—who counts Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth among his congregants—sparked anger after they prayed that "God kills" Texas Senate nominee James Talarico.
Earlier this month, Talarico pulled off an upset against Texas Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett, who has urged Democrats to support his candidacy as the 2026 midterm season kicks off.
Talarico is openly Christian—and that's not enough for the MAGA faithful and Christian nationalists like Haymes, who said he hopes "God kills" Talarico to make a statement.
Haymes said:
"You're not called to love the barbarian horde that is planning to break into your city and pillage, plunder, rape, and mutilate you and your people. You don't love that horde. This is where you pray ... 'Destroy them. God, make them as dung on the ground.'"
"I pray that God kills him. Ultimately, that means killing his heart and raising him up to new life in Christ. That's the first thing."
Potteiger replied with a hope that Talarico could be martyred like Saul of Tarsus, also known as Paul the Apostle:
"We want him crucified with Christ. I want him to be Saul of Tarsus, Talarico of Tarsus. That's what I want."
Haymes agreed, adding:
"Yes, we want death and new life. If it would not be within God's will to do so, stop him by any means necessary."
You can watch their exchange in the video below.
Many have condemned their remarks.
Talarico has openly opposed Christian nationalism, once referring to it as "the worship of power—social power, economic power, political power, in the name of Christ."
He has condemned the way Christian nationalists have warped the teachings of Jesus, turning him "into a gun-toting, gay-bashing, science-denying, money-loving, fear-mongering fascist."
Talarico notably criticized his GOP colleagues for backing Texas Senate Bill 10, under which schools are required to display the Ten Commandments in every elementary and secondary school classroom across the state. He has referred to such displays as "idolatrous," adding that the bill's "exclusionary" and "arrogant" nature "are diametrically opposed to the teachings of Jesus."
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