Fox News Ripped After Blaming Talarico For Not Trying To Stop MAGA Conspiracy Theory About Him

Fox News sparked eyerolls from critics after attempting to blame Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico for not trying to shut down a viral MAGA conspiracy theory that he'd had a mental health episode and was admitted to a facility.

Talarico returned to the campaign trail after taking nine days off to recover from the flu. During his absence, conservative commentators circulated an unsubstantiated claim that he had experienced a mental health crisis and traveled to the Lindner Center of Hope in Cincinnati, Ohio, for treatment.

Right-wing figures Nick Sortor and Rhein Amacher amplified the rumor, claiming that a call to the facility had confirmed Talarico was discharged. The campaign for Talarico's GOP opponent, Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, seized on the speculation, with a spokesperson attacking Talarico’s fitness for the race.

A Paxton spokesman told The Texas Tribune:

“Low-T Jimmy appears to be having a full-blown mental Tala-freak-out on the national stage. If James Talarico is too fragile to face Texans, he has no business asking for their vote.”

The rumor was undermined by photos showing Talarico performing onstage in Texas alongside Kacey Musgraves a day before he was allegedly discharged from the facility. The images contradicted the timeline circulating online. The Lindner Center of Hope further dispelled the claims Sunday night, stating that Talarico “has never received treatment” there.

Despite this, Fox News published a story about the debunked rumor, headlined “New Evidence Debunks Talarico Psych Hospital Rumor After ‘Mind-Numbing Malpractice’ Fuels Firestorm.”

The article framed the controversy in a way that appeared to shift blame onto Talarico, suggesting he was responsible for the fallout from the false claims about his mental health that right-wing figures had helped spread.

It goes on to nonetheless claim that "some observers questioning why Talarico's campaign did not provide similarly verifiable evidence earlier before an unsubstantiated theory about his whereabouts mushroomed across social media and was amplified by prominent conservatives."

Among those quoted is GOP strategist Mark Bednar, who said:

"In October of an election year, every day and every hour count as candidates do everything they can to meet with voters. So, if you are out of commission for any extent of time, it's easy for voters to wonder what's going on."

"That being said, if there's a simple explanation like an illness, it's even easier to just prove that outright to voters. If the flu was really the case with Talarico, it's mind-numbing malpractice that his campaign didn't quickly and easily demonstrate that."

The article even points out that Talarico's campaign "declined to add to its earlier response" discrediting the conspiracy theory. A Talarico spokesperson said the story had been "proven false" and that "James is excited to be back on the campaign trail after recovering from the flu."

And a social media post promoting the story asserts that while the conspiracy "has been debunked by time-stamped security footage" reviewed by journalists with the New York Times, "the bigger story may be why his campaign sat on the evidence while the conspiracy theory exploded across social media for days."

You can see the post below.

People are not buying this—to use a favorite GOP quip—"nothingburger" of a story.

The midterms are just a couple of weeks away and it's clearer than ever that Fox is spinning its wheels in desperation.