There’s a bit too much of the pronoun game happening for it to finally come into specific relief that this “pastor” called for the death of Talarico, himself a seminarian. If you don’t love thy neighbor, you’ve lost the ability to claim Christianity.

James Talarico, the Texas Democratic state representative and Presbyterian seminarian, has said he forgives Pete Hegseth’s pastor for praying for his death. On Tuesday, Texas’s popular Democratic nominee for a US Senate seat pushed back against comments from Brooks Potteiger, the defense secretary’s closest spiritual adviser, who said: “We want him crucified with Christ.”

Talarico said on X: “Jesus loves. Christian Nationalism kills. You may pray for my death, Pastor, but I still love you. I love you more than you could ever hate me.”

The 36-year-old’s response comes after Potteiger wished for his death last on a Christian nationalist podcast called Reformation Red Pill, which Hegseth has appeared on several times. Potteiger had joined a discussion about Talarico with podcast host Joshua Haymes, a former pastoral intern at Potteiger’s church who previously claimed that the Bible is “pro-ICE raids”.

I’m sure it is. You can find pretty much anything you want in it … but for the sake of clarity, what’s the book, chapter and verse?

Talarico, who is looking to unseat Republican senator John Cornyn this fall, recently said in an interview with Stephen Colbert that “there is nothing Christian about Christian nationalism.”

And he’s right.