White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller falsely claimed that Texas Senate candidate James Talarico was transgender during a heated online exchange on Tuesday, as Republicans escalated anti-LGBTQ+ attacks against the Democrat.

The exchange began after the Democratic National Committee promoted Talarico on its official X account following Texas Republican voters’ decision to nominate Attorney General Ken Paxton over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the GOP Senate primary. President Donald Trump endorsed Paxton last week.

“The Democrats made history in Texas by nominating their first transgender senate candidate,” Miller posted on X.

Talarico, who won a Democratic primary for Senate in March, is cisgender and heterosexual. He has drawn attention for his outspoken allyship and advocacy for LGBTQ+ equality, something Republicans have pounced on as the Democrat poses the first serious threat in years to flip Texas blue.

The DNC, from its official account, posted a blunt reply to Miller, writing, “shut up you ugly fuck.”

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Talarico’s team called it “Talarico Derangement Syndrome.”

The Democratic nominee has stood by his positions even as Republicans take issue with various speeches, including one where he said God was “nonbinary.” He told CBS News the remarks were “intentionally provocative” but that “God can’t be defined by human categories.”

“I know there are two sexes, men and women,” Talarico told the news outlet. “I also know there’s a very small percentage of people who have these chromosomal abnormalities, and I believe they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.”

He has addressed a number of bizarre attacks seemingly aimed at painting him as liberal and soft. For example, Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters on Tuesday repeated one lie about Talarico and attacked several of the Democrats’ pro-LGBTQ+ positions.

“He’s a vegan. He thinks God is nonbinary, [and ]he wants to mutilate children. He wants to put boys in girls’ locker rooms,” Gruters told Newsmax. “People are done with that.”

Talarico isn’t vegan either.

“I’m an eighth-generation Texan. I’ve been eating barbecue since before Ken Paxton’s first indictment,” he said.

Miller’s statement was technically incorrect in other ways as well, as transgender candidates have won legislative seats in the country, always as Democrats. Before U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride’s election to Congress, where she is the first out trans person to hold the office, she won election to the Delaware state Senate. As the Democratic nominee, she became the nation’s first out trans state senator in 2020.

The Paxton campaign has increasingly leaned into personal insults and schoolyard-style nicknames as the race escalates. The attorney general has referred to Talarico as “Talafreako.”

In a video highlighted by his campaign from an interview with CBS News, Talarico responded to the nickname by turning the criticism back on the attorney general and invoking the case of Adam Hoffman, a former Waco attorney whose plea deal drew bipartisan outrage in Texas.

“If Ken Paxton is worried about freaks, he should stop giving Epstein-style sweetheart deals to pedophiles,” Talarico said.

Hoffman had faced a first-degree felony charge of continuous sexual abuse of a young child, a case that ended in a mistrial after jurors deadlocked. Paxton’s office later reduced the charges as part of a plea agreement, and Hoffman pleaded guilty to indecent assault and displaying harmful material to a minor. A judge sentenced him to 60 days in jail, and Hoffman was not required to register as a sex offender. The deal prompted criticism from Texas lawmakers in both parties and from advocates for the victim’s family.

Tuesday night, after Paxon’s victory, the Republican said that Talarico was “weird” for supporting trans kids. Talarico accused Paxton of using children as a political talking point while his office handled the Hoffman case leniently.

“Ken Paxton is the most corrupt politician in America, and it is costing Texans, it’s endangering our children, and it must end,” Talarico said. “The Epstein class has no place in Texas.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.