Trump reveals Melania calls him 'sir' at home during bizarre Texas rally vegan rant

From the Newshound archive · first published 8 October 2026.

President Donald Trump told a San Antonio rally crowd that his wife Melania addresses him as 'sir' rather than by name, letting slip the detail while ranting about Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico's diet. Trump, 80, has made four trips to Texas in six weeks to campaign for Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, who is currently trailing Talarico in polls by as many as six points. The 'sir' admission came as Trump mangled the word 'vegan' before Melania corrected his pronunciation.

Talarico, 37, has denied being vegan, sharing photos of himself eating barbecue and saying he has 'been eating barbecue since before Ken Paxton's first indictment.'

Trump claimed Talarico had been secretly forcing himself to eat meat at campaign barbecues before going 'to the back of the tent' to be sick.

A Siena College poll puts Talarico ahead of Paxton 51-45, and a Fox News survey shows him up 51-49, with a win making him the first Democrat to take a Texas statewide seat since 1990.