Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico is reportedly trying to clean up what critics are calling a growing list of “cringey comments,” as his campaign shifts into damage-control mode following Tuesday’s runoff primary.

According to reporting around the campaign, efforts to reframe or soften Talarico’s past remarks have ramped up significantly in recent days. But the problem, as critics point out, is that the comments have already been circulating for a while and appear to have left a lasting impression on voters and political observers.

Some of the attention has been amplified online, where opponents argue that the campaign’s sudden cleanup effort is coming far too late to reset the narrative. The controversy has already been picked up in broader political commentary, including criticism from President Donald Trump, who also highlighted aspects of Talarico’s public remarks and even gave him a pointed nickname in the process.

Campaigns trying to rewrite momentum after the fact is nothing new in politics, but this situation highlights how quickly narratives can harden in the social media era. Once something gains traction, press releases and “clarifications” rarely erase it completely.

For now, Talarico’s team appears focused on limiting further fallout and redirecting attention back to policy issues, though critics say the damage has already been done.

As the Texas Senate race continues to heat up, the episode serves as another reminder that in modern politics, what you say doesn’t disappear — it just gets replayed louder when it becomes inconvenient.