WATCH: James Talarico Changes Story About Doctor Visit While Responding to Mental Hospital Rumors in First Interviews Since Disappearance

James Talarico’s first interview after emerging from mysterious absence

Texas Democratic Senate Nominee James Talarico broke his silence on his two-week hiatus this afternoon in interviews with NBC and MS Now, swearing that he “just had the flu” as claims that he was suffering a mental health episode continue to circulate. 

The Gateway Pundit reported earlier on allegations that Talarico was admitted to a mental institution in Ohio during his mysterious absence. An employee at the Lindner Center of HOPE in Mason, Ohio, allegedly confirmed on Saturday during a recorded phone call that Talarico had been “just discharged” from the facility. However, Talarico’s team denied the claim, saying “Talarico was home in Austin, Texas recovering from the flu.”

BREAKING: James Talarico Was Reportedly in Ohio Mental Health Hospital During Mysterious Disappearance – Talarico Campaign Responds! (AUDIO)

Talarico previously claimed, from a hotel room somewhere, that he had been diagnosed with a flu so bad that he went to an urgent care in Dallas during a virtual appearance at a United States Hispanic Business Council forum on September 30.

"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."

Now, he's changed his story, saying, "I just went to my primary care physician, but it wasn't anything worse than, you know, a nasty case of the flu." So, was it urgent care in Dallas or a primary care physician at his home in Austin?

When asked by Dallas-Fort Worth-based NBC reporter Phil Prazan to explain his absence, Talarico said, "Yeah, I got the flu, and I'm feeling much better, and I'm glad I had a chance to recover."

"That's not true," he said of the claim that he was in a mental hospital. "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."

Talarico further maintained that he's ready to debate Republican Senate Nominee Ken Paxton and called on Paxton to meet him on a 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.

He also used the same pre-rehearsed lines in an interview with MS Now's Rosa Flores this afternoon.

"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. "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."

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