MAGA watches another conspiracy theory blow up in its face
By: Aaron Blake/CNN
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Two weeks ago, GOP Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri saw his conspiracy theory about former special counsel Jack Smith implode spectacularly at a congressional hearing for all to see.
Rather than seemingly learning a lesson from that episode, the MAGA movement in recent days embraced another sketchy theory that quickly fell apart — that Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico was missing from the campaign trail because of a mental health episode.
There have been plenty of such episodes this year. And it’s hardly just random social media accounts.
The Talarico example is especially astounding for its reach. The idea that Talarico’s lengthy absence from the campaign trail was not due to the flu (as his campaign said), but rather a mental health episode quickly spread far and wide.
Over just a few days, it went from an admitted rumor ; to some like former Los Angeles GOP mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt claiming they had actual sources ; to winks and nods from Talarico’s GOP opponent Ken Paxton and President Donald Trump ; to right-wing sites covering the still - baseless claims ; to some attempted independent journalism that has been repeatedly promoted by Elon Musk .
By Sunday afternoon, a pair of right-wing influencers shared audio of what they said was a call with a mental health center in Ohio seemingly confirming that Talarico had just been released from its facility.
“Looks like he was just discharged this evening,” a voice is heard saying. “That’s why I don’t have it.”
The story then exploded on the right. But it just as quickly fell apart:
- The Bulwark and others obtained the full phone call showing the apparent employee had previously and repeatedly flatly denied any record of Talarico being at the facility. She only said the above quote after being unable to locate any records for a person who told her Talarico was her cousin and had been staying there.
- The timeline didn’t even match up. The influencer said the call was placed on Saturday evening, so that would mean Talarico would have been discharged Saturday evening. But Talarico had already appeared publicly in Texas the night before and did so again on Saturday night.
- The mental health center, called the Lindner Center of Hope, has now denied Talarico was ever there: “Representative James Talarico has never received treatment from Lindner Center of Hope.”
- Talarico says he has never even been to Ohio.
Some on the right are now deleting their posts about the false claim . Others like former Trump adviser Caroline Wren are walking back the significance of the claim.
One of the two right-wing influencers who shared the audio, Nick Sortor, appeared at the White House last year during a roundtable on antifa.
For what it’s worth, as CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski has noted , Talarico did a virtual event on September 30 where he said he had the flu and looked physically unwell. He was then off the campaign trail for nine days — not the two weeks that many on the right have claimed — before reemerging publicly on October 9. Talarico also has type 1 diabetes, which can make flu symptoms worse .
But for the MAGA movement, this is merely the latest conspiratorial episode.
Two weeks ago, it was Schmitt presenting what he seemed to view as smoking-gun evidence that Smith had been at an Atlanta Hawks game in February 2024 and — the theory seemed to go — might have been coordinating with local prosecutors who had indicted Trump in Fulton County, Georgia.
Except it turned out Smith was actually at a basketball game in Maryland that night. And even if he was in Atlanta, it would have proven basically nothing .
Back in July, MAGA figures led the charge in embracing rumors and even flat-out claiming that GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky — an unpopular figure among Trump supporters since he declared the president lost the 2020 election — was brain dead, amid his much-longer absence from public view. GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin even cited a claim that a photo of McConnell was AI-generated , before later backing off. A GOP House member even said he didn’t know whether McConnell was alive .
McConnell later returned to the Senate.
Over the summer, many on the right embraced Trump’s baseless conspiracy theory that vandals had sabotaged the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. A conservative reporter posted supposed video proof . Trump’s Justice Department even indicted a former Olympian. But the Justice Department later acknowledged that the damage “ was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism .”
In June, Republicans far and wide — including elected officials — suddenly promoted theories suggesting voter fraud was to blame for Pratt failing to make the runoff in the Los Angeles mayor’s race.
Except the theory rested on a complete misreading of the data and was debunked even by Trump’s DOJ and a top local GOP official. Pratt’s showing was also very much in line with how Republicans usually perform there. And, strategically, it would have made no sense for incumbent Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to rig the system to promote a fellow Democrat, who would have a better chance at beating her in the runoff than Pratt.
And in February, many on the right shared supposedly damning evidence from right-wing influencer Nick Shirley citing 30 allegedly illegal voter registrations at a UPS Store in San Diego. Those promoting the story included Donald Trump Jr. , who accused the media of ignoring it.
But fact-checkers noted that the UPS Store was actually on the ground floor of a mixed-use building with residential units above it. California elections officials said none of the registrations used the UPS Store’s suite number.
Of course, it’s entirely possible that the people promoting these theories don’t necessarily believe them — and that they just see value in promoting them, regardless of how true they are. Some MAGA influencers, after all, continued to promote Schmitt’s theory even after it fell apart .
It would seem especially expedient to promote such rumors about Talarico, given he has continued to lead Paxton in some Texas Senate polls and could give Democrats a crucial win in their quest for a Senate majority.
Or, as one participant on an X Spaces event about the Talarico story put it on Sunday: “Whether it’s true or not, people deserve to know the potential of this.”
Regardless of whether these people have a gullibility problem, the MAGA echo chamber now has a well-established credibility problem.
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Including the particularly virulent brand of the MAGA echo chamber that often appears on this website.
gee, what about all the mental health episodes in the oval office on a 24/7/365 daily basis?
... what about mitch the bitch in the senate and his prolonged mental health episode?
I'm afraid for the receptionists job. The scumbag "right wing provocateur" kept at her until she said Talarico had been released just to get rid of the piece of crap on the phone. If she gets fired it will be on the right's head.
you should hear what I say to scumbag maga pollsters on the phone ...
heh, heh, heh ...
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She most likely is a somewhat naive, nice, lady who had no reason to expect she would be asked to perpetrate a hoax.
Yes, considering this is politics we are talking about she should have expected folks on the phone trying to lead her places. Being nice and naive does not get you to keep a job you are not qualified for.
assuming that call was legit, which I doubt, it was probably faked with an AI voice ...
but being an asshole and naive can get you a cabinet position, a federal appointment, or a job kneeling in the west wing ...
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That’s a strong stance to take for someone you know nothing about. How come you haven’t learned that partisan manipulators on the internet are trying to lead you places? And it’s working.
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Their boss? You think some lady answering a phone in Ohio has something to do with the Talarico campaign in Texas?
At long last MAGA have no decency, no shame, no honor at all...
If he needed to be at a mental health facility, why would he travel to Ohio for it?
Maybe you should ask fellow Texas progressive Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo who sought treatment at that facility in Ohio.
thats probably why the rwnj's chose that one for the hoax
On the phone call played by The Bulwark, the facilities employee clearly tells the caller there was no Talarico at the facility. Then he called her back shortly thereafter and continued pressuring her to say Talarico had been there.
They also reportedly treated a famous drag queen in the past. Right down the propaganda colon for the GOP.
No need to. Hildago was very public about where she was and why.
When she returned to work in Oct 2023 she held press conferences and did numerous interviews.
It was all about public relations and promoting health care.
You are comparing apples to rocks, the rocks being the fabricated partisan story about Talarico secretly being treated, that you promoted being comparable to Hildago's story.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo opens up about her years-long battle with depression
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo returns to work Monday following 2-month leave for clinical depression treatment out of state - ABC13 Houston
I’m not the one who needs to ask questions. You are. The shit you will unquestionably believe, just to protect your politics, is astonishing.