Talarico Breaks His Silence
After roughly two weeks away from public view, Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico gave his first interviews to NBC and MS Now. He said his absence was caused by the flu and that he is now feeling much better. That answer came as online claims continued to circulate that he had suffered a mental-health episode and had been admitted to a facility in Ohio. Talarico rejected that account outright, saying, “That’s not true. I just had the flu, and I feel much better.” He also said the episode was a reminder that people cannot believe everything they read online. Fair enough, but changing details about a doctor visit is exactly the sort of thing that invites more questions.
The Doctor Visit Account Shifted
The scrutiny centers on how Talarico described getting medical care. During a virtual appearance on September 30, he said he had gone to urgent care in Dallas after becoming very sick. “I was starting to feel kind of under the weather a few days ago, and last night it got so bad that I went to the urgent care here in Dallas,” he said before explaining that he had been diagnosed with the flu and was running a fever. In his later interviews, however, Talarico said, “I just went to my primary care physician, but it wasn’t anything worse than, you know, a nasty case of the flu.” His campaign had previously said he was home in Austin recovering from the flu. Those descriptions leave a clear question about whether the visit was to urgent care in Dallas or to his primary doctor.
The Ohio Hospital Claim Remains Disputed
Earlier reports tied the rumors to an allegation involving the Lindner Center of HOPE in Mason, Ohio. An employee allegedly said during a recorded phone call that Talarico had been “just discharged” from the facility. That claim was denied by Talarico’s team, which said he was recovering at home in Austin. In his NBC interview, Talarico called the mental-hospital claim false and said people cannot believe everything they read online. During his MS Now appearance, he called it “the craziest thing I’ve ever heard” and accused people of putting something online and watching the media run with it. The public dispute now includes his firm denial, the campaign’s earlier statement, and the conflicting descriptions of his medical visit.
Talarico Challenges Paxton to Debate
Talarico also used the interviews to challenge Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton to debate. He said he was ready to meet Paxton on a stage, then answered Paxton’s reported request for proof of life with a jab of his own. “I’ve heard rumors that he has a rare medical condition that causes clinical levels of cowardice,” Talarico said. “So, I know Ken Paxton has asked for proof of life for me; I’m asking for proof of spine from him.” Talarico repeated essentially the same line during the MS Now interview. The debate challenge adds another political layer to a controversy that began with a two-week absence and grew because the explanations did not sound exactly the same.
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