We know James Talarico is a cutie, but can the conservatives give this man a break? The Texas Democratic Senate candidate recently took time off to recover from the flu, and somehow, his sick leave turned into a conspiracy theory, an AI-generated surgical insinuation, and a celebrity feud. Just another normal week on the internet, apparently.
Kari Lake Turns the Flu Into a Conspiracy
Talarico’s campaign said he was recovering from the flu after the candidate spent several days away from public appearances. Rather than simply accepting that explanation, conservative figures began speculating about his whereabouts, even going as far as making conspiracies around the absence.
Kari Lake, a senior adviser at the U.S. Agency for Global Media under President Donald Trump, joined the conversation with an eyebrow-raising post on X. Responding to conservative commentator Caroline Wren, who suggested Talarico was using his illness to avoid discussing his type 1 diabetes, Lake shared an AI-generated response to the question: How long does it take to recover from “bottom surgery?”
The insinuation was that Talarico had secretly undergone gender-affirming surgery. There was no evidence supporting that claim, and his campaign had already explained his absence. Apparently, recovering from the flu wasn’t dramatic enough for the internet.
The Mental Health Rumor That Fell Apart
Then came another allegation. Conservative influencers circulated a claim that Talarico had received treatment at the Lindner Center of Hope, a mental health facility in Ohio.
The facility directly denied it, stating that Talarico had never received treatment there. Talarico also said he had never even visited Ohio. He subsequently appeared at the Austin City Limits Music Festival and a Kacey Musgraves concert in Dallas.
Conservative commentator Carmine Sabia later apologized for sharing the false report and publicly retracted it. His correction included a reminder that truth matters more than winning with a lie. Well, better late than never.
READ: Paxton Really Wants to Talk About Talarico’s Favorite Drag Queen? She Responds
Kacey Musgraves Enters the Chat
If Talarico has a country music star in his corner, it’s Kacey Musgraves.
After attending her Dallas concert on October 10, Talarico posted a photo thanking the singer for having him. Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem responded by saying she’d choose Ella Langley over Musgraves and Republican Ken Paxton over Talarico.
Musgraves wasn’t about to let that one slide. Her response? “I don’t think you have a dog in this fight but if you did you would have shot it.”
The cutting remark referenced Noem’s widely criticized account in her 2024 memoir of shooting her family dog, Cricket.
Between the unfounded rumors and the political jabs, Talarico’s recovery somehow became a whole national spectacle. But here’s the thing: public figures are fair game for political scrutiny, not baseless speculation about their health.
And if the goal was to distract everyone from the actual issues in the Texas Senate race, this circus certainly gave the internet plenty to talk about.