President Donald Trump recently criticized James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for the Texas Senate, claiming he has been “MISSING IN ACTION” after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stated that Talarico hadn’t been seen for 11 days.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump urged Talarico, who serves as a state representative, to agree to a debate with Paxton.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, upon information and belief, James TalaFREAKo, who is running for the United States Senate in Texas, is MISSING IN ACTION! No one has seen him for an extended period of time. Where is he? What is wrong with him? Bad rumors are coming out,” Trump wrote.
“He should immediately report to a Debate Stage against Ken Paxton, who is ready, willing, and able, one of the best Attorney Generals in the Country, and will soon be, hopefully, a United States Senator representing the Great People of Texas!” he added.
Talarico, speaking virtually at a Hispanic Business Council event on September 30, disclosed that he had been diagnosed with the flu, mentioning that he was “most contagious” during that week.
“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 urgent care here in Dallas,” he explained. “I guess I’ve been shaking too many hands on the campaign trail, and so I want to keep everybody safe.”
“If I was passing on this illness to somebody and got someone’s grandmother or someone’s baby sick, I…couldn’t live with myself, so I thought the best thing to do was to put safety first and put everyone’s health first,” he continued.
Meanwhile, Paxton’s campaign launched ads suggesting Talarico had last been spotted in Texas on September 26.
“James Talarico has been missing for 11 days, last known whereabouts: New York,” an ad on Paxton’s social media stated.
The advertisement pointed out that Talarico was last at a fundraiser hosted by Robert De Niro in New York, and it accused his campaign of using old footage to hide his absence.
In response, Talarico’s campaign asserted to Fox News that he had been sick with the flu but has participated in over 100 public events, which likely contributed to his condition.
“After holding more than 100 public events and shaking tens of thousands of hands, James came down with the flu but will be back on the trail this weekend,” a spokesperson for Talarico shared.
