(Ken Silva, Headline USA) James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, has denied rumors that he was at a mental hospital earlier this month.
Talarico addressed the issue Sunday in an interview with local NBC reporter Phil Prazan, attributing his recent nine-day absence to having the flu. Talarico has diabetes, which can make having the flu especially nasty.
I spoke with Rep. James Talarico earlier today in Dallas. I ask him about:
-getting the flu
-the claim he was getting treatment for a stress-induced episode
-a debate update
More tonight at 5 and 10 pm. pic.twitter.com/uqhaXHcmtv
— Phil Prazan (@PhilPrazan) October 11, 2026
“If you don’t take the opportunity to get well, sometimes you can get even sicker,” he said.
Linder Center HOPE, where Talarico was rumored to have been sent for his mental issues, also said that he never received treatment there.
Representative James Talarico has never received treatment from Lindner Center of Hope.
— Lindner Center HOPE (@LindnerCtrHope) October 11, 2026
Rumors about Talarico’s mental health stem from social media posts made by conservative influencers Caroline Wren, Sara Gonzales, and Nick Sortor. Wren posted flight logs showing a private jet flying on Oct. 9 from Austin, Texas to Hamilton, Ohio—near the Linder Center—while Sortor posted a short recording Sunday of a Linder Center employee saying over the phone that Talarico had been discharged from there on Saturday.
🚨 BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: Ohio mental hospital CONFIRMS James Talarico was discharged from the facility earlier this week
The “flu” thing was a BIG FAT LIE
Following reporting by @SaraGonzalesTX and @CarolineWren, a hospital employee told @RheinAmacher and I that Talarico had in… pic.twitter.com/VDdfKoaAFG
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) October 11, 2026
However, Talarico had already made a public appearance Friday, the day before he was supposedly discharged from the mental facility. Reporter Tony Ortiz obtained the full phone call with the Linder Center employee, who also said that she did “not find anyone with that name (Talarico) for the last four days that’s been discharged and they’re not here in the building.”
Ortiz further noted that multiple outlets, including the Blaze and the Daily Mail, declined to publish reports about Talarico and the mental hospital because of a lack of hard evidence.
— Tony Ortiz (Current Revolt) (@CurrentRevolt) October 12, 2026
Gonzales, who works for The Blaze, tweeted on Sunday that the rumors about Talarico would be “confirmed by even MORE EXPLOSIVE EVIDENCE very soon.”
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
