MS NOW Hails Talarico, Hamilton Wins, Claims Evangelicals Worked To 'Slander' Jesus

The Atlantic writer and ex-Republican Peter Wehner stopped by MS NOW's The Moment with Katy Tur on Thursday to discuss his latest article that tries to argue that James Talarico and Adam Hamilton's Senate wins in Texas and Kansas were "an important moment for the Evangelical movement, which I think has done so much to slander the name of Jesus."

Tur began by wondering, "Peter Wehner, you talked today in The Atlantic about Christianity coming back into Democratic politics, and you're hoping that this is going to usher in a new era of goodness, of, you know, protecting each other and being decent, ushering out the Trump era. Is this a part of it, going after corruption, cleaning up government?"

The Atlantic's Peter Wehner claims James Talarico and Adam Hamilton winning "was an important moment for the Evangelical movement, which I think has done so much to slander the name of Jesus by those who most loudly proclaim it." pic.twitter.com/odDDQpjnZA

— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) November 5, 2026

Wehner replied that "I do think it's part of it. I think part of it, too, is just sensibility and disposition, kind of the orientation of the heart, and the two Democrats that were so important that I focused on in the essay, James Talarico in Texas and Adam Hamilton in Kansas, ran a campaign of real decency."

He also claimed, "They were in many ways, I'd say, the antithetical approach to Donald Trump. And they're both men of deep faith. I mean, it's pretty clear that it's central to their life. And I think it's good for the Democratic Party to have people of the Christian faith there at the table and in the caucus, and I'm glad that they're in red states. So, I think that can temper some of the more extreme places that some candidates and politicians can go."

Wehner also insisted that "I actually think as a person of the Christian faith, more important is I think it was an important moment for the Evangelical movement, which I think has done so much to slander the name of Jesus by those who most loudly proclaim it."

Finally, he asserted that "I think what this showed is it moved the Evangelical movement away, including, I hope, from its allegiance to one party. It's just tremendous harm has been done, by the way, that people of faith have tried to carry out their faith in public life. Talarico and Hamilton have shown a different way, and I think it's a better way."

The reason MS NOW supports Hamilton and Talarico is not because of Christian decency or a contrast with Trump because we know the left's rocky relationship with Evangelicals did not begin when Donald Trump first decided to run for president. Liberals like Talarico and Hamilton because they share the same beliefs on abortion, same-sex marriage, and transgender issues. The question for the whole MS NOW cast is if they believe it is even possible to be a "decent" conservative Evangelical or are they automatically anti-woman, transphobic, and homophobic bigots for believing what all Christians have believed for over 2,000 years.

Here is a transcript for the November 5 show:

MS NOW The Moment with Katy Tur

11/5/2026

2:07 PM ET

KATY TUR: Peter Wehner, you talked today in The Atlantic about Christianity coming back into Democratic politics, and you're hoping that this is going to usher in a new era of goodness, of, you know, protecting each other and being decent, ushering out the Trump era. Is this a part of it, going after corruption, cleaning up government?

PETER WEHNER: I do think it's part of it. I think part of it, too, is just sensibility and disposition, kind of the orientation of the heart, and the two Democrats that were so important that I focused on in the essay, James Talarico in Texas and Adam Hamilton in Kansas, ran a campaign of real decency.

I mean, they were in many ways, I'd say, the antithetical approach to Donald Trump. And they're both men of deep faith. I mean, it's pretty clear that it's central to their life. And I think it's good for the Democratic Party to have people of the Christian faith there at the table and in the caucus, and I'm glad that they're in red states. So, I think that can temper some of the more extreme places that some candidates and politicians can go.

But the other thing, and I actually think as a person of the Christian faith, more important is I think it was an important moment for the Evangelical movement, which I think has done so much to slander the name of Jesus by those who most loudly proclaim it.

And I think what this showed is it moved the Evangelical movement away, including, I hope, from its allegiance to one party. It's just tremendous harm has been done, by the way, that people of faith have tried to carry out their faith in public life. Talarico and Hamilton have shown a different way, and I think it's a better way.