Detransitioner Denied Forum to Question Texas Candidate Talarico at CNN Town Hall

Soren Aldaco, a detransitioner, stated in a recent interview that she was unable to participate in a CNN town hall event featuring Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, where she had intended to ask him about gender transition policies.

Aldaco, 23, alleged that organizers of the Oct. 14 town hall, hosted by CNN and Jubilee Media, did not respond to her request to attend until the day before the event. She was subsequently informed that she could not be included in the forum, she said during an appearance on "The Katie Miller Podcast."

"He needs to have a long-form conversation, a real face-to-face with someone like me," Aldaco said of Talarico. "And, you know, I tried to when he did the CNN town hall, where he did the 'prove me wrong' [Steven] Crowder format, engaging with constituents, right? We tried to get me in that room to talk to him about this issue and to be able to give him my message through conversation, which I think is most effective. And they actually didn't get back to us until the evening before and said, 'No, we can't get you in that room,' like 'you can't talk to him.'"

Aldaco has previously been involved in legal action concerning her gender transition. In June, the Texas Supreme Court ruled she had not missed the deadline to pursue claims against a therapist and counseling provider, reversing a lower court's decision.

During the town hall, Talarico addressed past controversial statements he made, including referring to God as "nonbinary" and using the Bible to support his pro-choice stance on abortion. When asked by an audience member if he believed the Bible was the absolute source of truth, Talarico responded, "Yes."

He characterized some of his past remarks as "provocative," drawing a parallel to his interpretation of scripture and that of Charlie Kirk. Talarico also suggested that Republican extremism had prompted some of his controversial statements, including those about God being "nonbinary" and there being six biological sexes. He argued that these were not the primary issues he ran for office to address, stating his focus was public education.

"It's kind of ironic that they're clipping these things to make it sound like I'm the one who was talking about this when, in reality, it was the Republican extremists at the Capitol who were obsessed with talking about trans issues, obsessed with talking about people's private parts," Talarico stated. "That wasn't me. That was them that changed."

CNN did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital regarding Aldaco's claims.