WATCH: James Talarico Changes His Flu Story While Denying Mental Hospital Rumors
Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico is speaking publicly again after a two-week hiatus. In interviews with NBC and MS Now, Talarico said he had been dealing with the flu while denying reports that he was admitted to a mental-health facility in Ohio.
“I just had the flu,” Talarico said. He also insisted that he was feeling better after the unexplained absence, which had prompted speculation online.
The Gateway Pundit had previously reported an allegation that Talarico was admitted to the Lindner Center of HOPE in Mason, Ohio. According to that report, an employee at the facility allegedly confirmed during a recorded phone call that Talarico had been “just discharged.”
Talarico’s campaign rejected that claim and said, “Talarico was home in Austin, Texas recovering from the flu.”
But Talarico’s account of his medical visit has changed. During a virtual appearance at a United States Hispanic Business Council forum on September 30, Talarico said he was in a hotel room and had gone to urgent care in Dallas.
“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. “And I was diagnosed with the flu, and so uh I’m running a fever, and I’m my most contagious uh right now.”
In his latest interviews, Talarico offered a different description of where he received care. “I just went to my primary care physician, but it wasn’t anything worse than, you know, a nasty case of the flu.”
That leaves a basic question at the center of the controversy: Was Talarico treated at urgent care in Dallas, as he previously said, or by a primary care physician at his home in Austin? The discrepancy is likely to keep the details of his two-week absence under scrutiny.
When NBC reporter Phil Prazan asked Talarico to explain the absence, he kept his response short. “Yeah, I got the flu, and I’m feeling much better, and I’m glad I had a chance to recover.”
Talarico directly rejected the report of a mental-health-facility stay. “That’s not true,” he said. “I just had the flu, and I feel much better. But it’s a good reminder that you can’t believe everything you read on the internet.”
The dispute quickly turned toward the Senate race. Talarico said he was ready to debate Republican nominee Ken Paxton and challenged Paxton to appear with him on stage.
“You know, I’ve heard rumors that he has a rare medical condition that causes clinical levels of cowardice. So, I know Ken Paxton has asked for proof of life for me; I’m asking for proof of spine from him,” he said.
Talarico used the same basic response in his interview with MS Now’s Rosa Flores. “I had the flu. This is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. It’s wild that someone can just put something on the internet and then the media just runs with it,” he said.
He also repeated his attack on Paxton. “You know, I’ve heard credible reports that Paxton has a serious medical condition that causes clinical levels of cowardice… He has asked for proof of life from me; I’m asking for proof of spine from him.”
For now, Talarico is offering a clear denial of the mental-health rumors. But his shift from describing an urgent-care visit in Dallas to describing a visit with his primary care physician leaves the details of his two-week absence under continued scrutiny.