THOSE FIRST SEVEN WORDS ARE EVERGREEN: David French Suffers An Apparent Brain Injury Over James Talarico.

In a moment we should have seen coming, New York Times columnist David French has just gushed out a shameless celebration of Talarico’s insane nonsense, every word of which should qualify the worst op-ed prostitute in America for urgent psychiatric intervention. Here’s a whole paragraph: “Or, to put it another way, Talarico is one of the few openly Christian politicians in the United States who acts like a Christian, and by acting like a Christian he reveals a profound contrast with so many members of the MAGA Christian movement that’s dominated American political life for 10 years.”

A challenge: Find the evidence French offers for the claim that Talarico “acts like a Christian.” He cites some speeches, but speeches aren’t actions. How, in David French’s conception, does James Talarico live like a Christian, by his actions, and what does he think that means? Hang onto this point, because we’ll be coming back to it.

But then go on to the characterization of MAGA as a Christian movement, full stop, as if no one would argue. Quick: Name the top three speeches Donald Trump has made in which he used the Bible as an argument for his political program. Discuss, in detail, the specific policy influence of Trump’s pastor, who you should be able to name if we’re talking about a Christian nationalist ideologue. Or, as a shortcut, just show the evidence French has ever presented to prove that MAGA is primarily theological, and that Trump’s first instinct is to steer by religious faith. French doesn’t argue this, because he can’t. He just says it. It’s a noise he makes, endlessly. It has no meaning of any kind.

Read the whole thing.