The anatomy of a MAGA smear

On September 30, Texas Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for Texas Senate, appeared on Zoom for a planned event with the Hispanic Business Council of the United States. He had the flu, he explained, which was why he couldn’t come in person. This turned out to be a rather unpleasant affair, so Talarico temporarily withdrew from the campaign trail to recuperate at home.

At least that’s what he said. Soon, rumors began to circulate in the MAGA sphere. Something was wrong here; it couldn’t just It could be the flu, right? Talarico was next seen in public at the Austin City Limits (ACL) music festival on Friday, October 9. The next night, he was at a Kacey Musgraves concert. Wasn’t a nine-day absence a bit hard for the flu? (It should be noted that Talarico has Type I diabetes, which can exacerbate flu symptoms.)

Internet detectives set out to investigate. Influencers must influence. Before long, they discovered the truth as they saw it: Talarico had been taken to Ohio and admitted to the Lindner Center of Hope, a psychiatric clinic outside Cincinnati. This revelation would surely implode his campaign and hand the race to Talarico’s Republican opponent, Ken Paxton. There was much celebration.

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