GOP lawmaker hammered with questions about Trump by angry town hall attendees

Former FBI whistleblower Kyle Seraphin set the tone. "This is f------ nauseating," he wrote. "This is the Texas GOP. A man born and raised in India and a gay guy who doesn't know how to wear boots. Good luck and good night."

Conservative fundraiser Spence Rogers was equally blunt, writing: "An Indian and a gay guy walk into a bar…." leaving the punchline unwritten but the implication still unmistakable.

GOP precinct chair Sarah Fields added: "Dear Scott, this video is CRINGE and Abraham is NOT a conservative. We are voting him out at the next convention."

The attacks drew a sharp contrast with the video's message, in which George and Presler called for Republican unity heading into the general election. "Once this primary election runoff is over we're coming together," George said. "We are going to push for every single candidate in November."

Even the Texas Democratic Party weighed in, though considerably more mildly — mocking Presler's choice to tuck his jeans into his cowboy boots.

"Look, no one has been betrayed or backstabbed or maligned and lied about more than President Trump," Schilling said. "I think that's undeniable."

Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright, who had been bouncing impatiently in his seat and smirking, was unable to contain himself any further.

"Come on," he said in response to Schilling's claims.

"Okay, the 'Russia, Russia, Russia' collusion hoax turned out to be a total hoax," Schilling insisted, as Seawright stared deadpan at the camera. "It was totally exaggerated, and it was all based on lies. We want to avoid things that are distractions. We want to avoid the noise and get back to the signal."

"There are already laws that protect whistleblowers, right?" Schilling added. "So it's important that we protect the security of the United States. This is all coming in light of the new ballroom, by the way, which needs to have NDAs around it. It's a security measure for the White House. You can't know everything about the White House and its designs for it."

"CNN This Morning" host Audie Cornish stepped in and busted Schilling's chops a bit.

"No, I like this," she teased. "You have 100 percent trust in the government at all times."

Schilling insisted he didn't, which caused Cornish to burst into laughter, and she listed all the inspectors general – who handle whistleblower complaints – that Trump has pushed out before turning to a visibly restless Seawright.

"Loyalty is a top requirement to work in and around Donald Trump," Seawright said, and Schilling said that was true in any administration. "That's not true. Secondly, I would just add, it's clear that they are actively pursuing aggressively state-run media because any story or any reports contrary or anti-Trump, it becomes problematic, and so they're trying to suffocate and silent voices within government who want to reveal the truth."

Schilling interjected to argue that NDAs were necessary to prevent liars from fabricating negative stories about the Trump administration, and Seawright pushed back.

"How would you feel if this was Joe Biden?" Seawright said, and Schilling insisted that frequently happened during his presidency. "When did the when did the Biden-Harris administration implement NDA signings or attempt to? In the four years that Joe Biden was president, you just tell me when, and I will agree with you."

Schilling assured him that happened "a lot," and Seawright pounced.

"You never answered my question," Seawright said. "Because when did it happen?"

CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein took a whack next.

"There were tons of leaks under the Trump administration, that's why this is happening," Brownstein said. "It didn't really happen under the Biden administration. I mean, this this this is a distillation of his view of the federal government. This is the distillation of his view that it is his it is the extension of his personal will. It has no independent statutory or constitutional obligations to the public."

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"We've been told in 2008, in 2014 and 2020, and now in 2026, that Texas is going to turn purple and then turn blue," Schilling said. "It's just not going to happen, the demographics aren't there. The state is very conservative. It's Christian-oriented, and with Talarico, you have a candidate – I know, I know you you're shocked that they're using tofu against him. But this is Texas, and I've spent a lot of time in Texas and invest a lot of money in Texas elections. That's actually devastating for him."

"You need someone, if the Democrats really wanted to take out any Republican in that state, Ted Cruz or even Paxton, they would nominate an oil man," Schilling added. "They would nominate someone that's out there working on the oil rigs, not some leftist professor or leftist teacher from from Austin who says that the incarnation of Christ justifies abortion. It's crazy."

Through her laughter, Cornish took note of the language Schilling used to attack Talarico.

"All your fighting words, 'Austin,' 'teacher' – yuck," Cornish chuckled. "Texas is the white whale for Democrats. Also true, Trump-backed candidates that didn't do so well in a state like Georgia, a southern state where maybe the Democrats, the demographics weren't supposed to work out in his favor, and now there are Democratic senators there. So do Democrats feel like this is the year?"

Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright addressed Schilling's smears before answering the host's question.

"Conservative does not mean Christian," Seawright said, as Schilling grinned. "GOP does not mean 'God's only party.' I want to just say that to my dear friend to my right here."

Schilling's grin faded at the confrontation, and Seawright turned his attention to the general election matchup.

"Politics is a game of matchups, and when you have an indicted election denier who helped lead the effort to overturn the 2020 election and someone who is impeached, I think we welcome that to the conversation," he said. "I think that Democrats are well-positioned to take advantage of a very fertile environment, not only because Republicans have failed in Washington, but also, I think people in Texas are feeling the residue of the failed leadership in Washington, and I think that matters in this environment."

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