James Talarico Said ‘If Only George Floyd Was a Blonde Salon Owner’ and Backed Austin Police Defunding

Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico, who posted during the 2020 unrest that “If only George Floyd was a blonde salon owner,” donated to a group that advocated cutting Austin police funding, campaigned against a ballot initiative to increase police staffing as homicides rose in the city, voted against Republican-backed law enforcement legislation, and called ICE a “secret police force” that should be “torn down.”

Following the May 2020 death of George Floyd, Talarico wrote, “If only George Floyd was a blonde salon owner,” while questioning where “anti-government protestors,” “freedom-defenders,” and “liberty-lovers” were when “a black man is killed by the state.” He later argued that the country needed to “dismantle white supremacy and institutional racism.”

After another user questioned whether the posts were constructive, Talarico responded that “true love means holding our friends to a higher standard” and later said he wanted conservatives “to join this struggle for