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Rumors are flying about the whereabouts of Texas Democrat James Talarico after nearly two weeks away from the campaign trail — and the newest claim is far more serious than an ordinary case of the flu.
Republican commentator Spencer Pratt said Friday that sources were telling him Talarico is in a mental health facility. Pratt did not name those sources or publish evidence supporting the claim.
He also struck a surprisingly humane note, saying that if the report is true, this is “a time to pray” for Talarico.
Pratt laid out the claim in full here:
That allegation remains unverified. Talarico’s campaign has said he is recovering from the flu and expects him to return to the trail this weekend.
Still, the questions did not begin with Pratt. Talarico’s last public appearance in Texas was reportedly September 26.
He then traveled to New York for fundraising events before appearing virtually at a September 30 business forum, where he said he had gone to urgent care in Dallas and been diagnosed with the flu.
Trending Politics reports that the growing scrutiny intensified after Talarico’s public calendar went quiet during the final stretch of his Senate race against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The outlet stressed that Pratt’s claim was unverified, while also noting that President Trump had questioned Talarico’s whereabouts and urged him to take the debate stage against Paxton.
Pratt was not the first Republican voice to say sources were pointing to a possible mental-health crisis.
GOP strategist Caroline Wren told Steve Bannon on Real America’s Voice that she had heard Talarico checked himself into a mental-health institution after suffering a breakdown. Wren explicitly said she did not know whether the report was true and called for reporters to verify it.
The video shows exactly what Wren said — including her warning that the report was unconfirmed:
PJ Media detailed the timeline behind Wren’s remarks. The report says Talarico was seen in Texas on September 26, attended New York fundraisers on September 28 and 29, and then appeared remotely on September 30 after saying he had visited a Dallas clinic.
It also notes that campaign social-media accounts used older rally footage while in-person events disappeared from the calendar. PJ Media likewise emphasized that the mental-health allegation had not been confirmed.
The report says Blaze host Sara Gonzales had separately received information about Talarico’s whereabouts that she was still trying to confirm. Gonzales kept the substance of her tip private, publicly asked anyone with direct knowledge to contact her, and promised anonymity.
PJ Media also describes Wren’s argument that a campaign normally responds quickly when a damaging rumor is false. Wren said political staffers know why a candidate’s schedule has been cleared, and she questioned why no Texas reporter had obtained a direct explanation beyond the campaign’s illness statement.
Those circumstances do not prove the rumor. They do explain why the unexplained cancellations, virtual appearance, recycled footage, and lack of a normal campaign schedule have kept the questions alive.
Then another account made an even more alarming assertion, claiming Talarico’s absence followed a suicide attempt.
There is no public evidence establishing that claim, and it should not be treated as fact. Here is the post now circulating:
The campaign’s official explanation is still the flu.
The Associated Press reports that Talarico’s team says he became ill after more than 100 public events and plans to return to the campaign trail this weekend. Talarico has also made at least one virtual appearance during the absence, so descriptions of him as literally “missing” are political shorthand, not a claim that nobody has heard from him at all.
That distinction matters. So does the fact that Texas voters are being asked to choose a United States senator while one of the nominees has vanished from normal in-person campaigning during the closing weeks.
If Talarico appears publicly this weekend as promised, he can answer these questions directly. Until then, the mental-health and suicide-attempt claims remain rumors — serious, attributed allegations that have not been independently verified.
And if there truly is a health crisis behind the scenes, Pratt was right about one thing: this is a time to pray for Talarico and his family, even while demanding honesty from a campaign seeking one of the most powerful offices in the country.
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[ H/T WLT Report ]
