Yesterday, CNN unearthed some comments James Talarico, the Democrat running for Senate in Texas, made about capitalism back in 2020. Ed covered Talarico's comments and the story about them by CNN's Andrew Kaczynski.
“I am so thankful that you asked this question and also thankful that young activists have really drawn the link between climate change and White supremacy and capitalism in our country,” Talarico said. “And I think only ending the ways that all three of those oppressive systems work together are we gonna be able to begin the process of dismantling them.”
A spokesperson for Talarico tried to back away from that woke word salad on his behalf.
Asked for comment, Talarico campaign spokesperson J.T. Ennis told Fox News Digital, “James is a proud capitalist and agrees with the majority of Texans that racism, natural disasters, and a billionaire-controlled economy are all problems we need to address.”
CNN's Kaczynski got a slightly different response from Talarico's campaign admitting the 2020 statement was "cringey."
Talarico campaign tells CNN his “cringey,” past comments “missed the mark," and he's a capitalist who supports oil and gas.
— Andrew Kaczynski (@KFILE) September 1, 2026
Last night, CNN's Abby Phillips raised the question on her show and that started a debate of sorts between Kmele Foster and Jemele Hill over whether or not Talarico was correct about capitalism being an oppressive system bound up with white supremacy.
Foster did a good job pointing out that, fundamentally, capitalism is a system of free trade which is mutually beneficial to those involved and which has made America in particular a very wealthy country.
For her part, Hill really seemed to have nothing much to add beyond doubting what Foster was saying and asking him leading questions without stating a clear opinion of her own. Foster replied that slavery pre-dated capitalism and had no natural connection to it. Finally, he demanded that she contribute something of her own: "You actually have to articulate what the connection is. How are these two things the same?"
"You're talking about capitalism in its purest form, how it was intended to work versus how it's actually working," Hill replied.
"I'm talking about how it's working right now, today. What is the white supremacist dynamic of private property?" Foster said.
And then Hill, who seemed to be getting nowhere, was rescued by Leigh McGowan. Here's the clip.
Setting aside the whole healthcare debate, the answer Hill (or someone) should have offered is that capitalism becomes bound up with white supremacy when black people become a product that can be bought and sold like sides of beef. In other words, slavery binds those two together.
However, the obvious problem with that argument is that we don't have any slavery now and haven't (not legally) for over 150 years. So whatever connection you want to draw between capitalism and white supremacy has to be something that is still happening now.
Some have argued that capitalism still isn't working because, for instance, black Americans are much less likely to own a home or have significant family wealth (those two things are often connected). But those arguments get tricky because there are other significant factors, such as the marriage rate. Only about 33 percent of black adults in America are married. That's a lot lower than the national average and the rate among white Americans which is closer to 53 percent. Getting married turns out to be a big factor in being able to buy a home and create family wealth. The wealth held by U.S. families is about four times that held by single people who never married.
There's also a big difference in education outcomes by race. Asian Americans graduate high school at close to 99 percent. Black Americans graduate at closer to 81 percent (though it has been climbing). About 26 percent of black Americans have a college degree. For Asian Americans that figure is 70 percent. U.S. Census data shows that a family with parents who have college degrees are likely to earn about double what a family with parents who just finished high school earn and more than triple what a family of people who didn't finish high school earn.
So getting married and graduating high school (and college) makes a huge difference in financial outcomes and home ownership. There are exceptions to every rule but for the most part these are things that correlate with success. And obviously there are a lot of personal choices connected to all of the factors I'm bringing up. If you choose to drop out of high school and choose to never marry, your likelihood of success is pretty slim compared to people who make the opposite choices. That's why group differences in these areas make a big difference in group outcomes financially.
When you say that capitalism isn't working for people today because of white supremacy, you actually need to make the case that these other obvious factors either don't matter or are themselves products of white supremacy. That's not so easy to do precisely because personal choices are involved. I don't think Jemele Hill was remotely prepared to make that case nor was Leigh McGowan.
Finally, it's worth noting that Jemele Hill is married and a college graduate and used to make $1 million a year working for ESPN (though that was before she got married). I'm sure she's still doing pretty well for herself now.
Editor's Note: The Democrat Party has been infected by socialism, and it's spreading FAST. Democrats are claiming there's nothing to worry about, but we know the truth.
Help us continue to shine a light on the socialist takeover by joining HotAir VIP. Use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member