STIRRING THE POT

Megyn Kelly Doubles Down on Crackpot Claims about Dem Star

The MAGA podcaster gave airtime to some absurd claims about James Talarico.

Megyn Kelly gave credence to absurd claims about Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico even after they were debunked.

The MAGA podcaster kicked off her daily “AM Update” on Monday by amplifying right-wing conspiracies about the Texas state rep’s flu-induced absence from the campaign trail.

“A newly released audio recording further inflaming controversy over Democrat candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas James Talarico’s extended absence from the campaign trail, as an Ohio mental health facility seems to confirm Talarico was there, right before they deny it,” Kelly, 55, said.

Talarico, 37, was out of the public eye for more than a week after contracting the flu, limiting his engagement on the campaign trail ahead of his heated November midterm matchup against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The Senate hopeful made his first public appearance since his hiatus on Friday while attending the Austin City Limits music festival.

Right-wing figures, including Paxton, capitalized on the opportunity by promoting wild theories about the Democrat’s absence.

The former Fox News star cited claims from MAGA fundraiser Caroline Wren, who “posted flight tracking information she suggested could connect Talarico to a mental health facility in Ohio.”

The MAGA podcaster said Wren pointed to records of a private plane leaving Texas Thursday night for an airport near Cincinnati, Ohio, before it returned to Austin the following morning, “possibly after picking up Talarico.”

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“That Ohio airport located approximately 20 minutes from the Lindner Center of Hope, where Harris County, Texas judge Lina Hidalgo, a friend of Talarico’s, according to Wren, previously received treatment for depression,” Kelly said.

Kelly covered her tracks by emphasizing that the flight records provided “no indication of who was actually aboard the aircraft, or whether it had anything to do with James Talarico whatsoever.”

She then turned her attention to an unverified audio recording shared Sunday by MAGA influencer Nick Sortor, which alleged that an employee of the Linder Center had “confirmed” Talarico had been receiving “psychiatric treatment.”

“The ‘flu’ thing was a BIG FAT LIE,” Sortor wrote on X. “Following reporting by @SaraGonzalesTX and @CarolineWren, a hospital employee told @RheinAmacher and I that Talarico had in fact been a patient at the Lindner Center of Hope near Cincinnati, Ohio, which specializes in around-the-clock mental health treatment.”

Kelly explained that the audio recording appeared to capture “conservative influencer Rhein Amacher speaking over the phone to a woman identifying herself as an employee of the facility.”

She said that Amacher had pretended to be Talarico’s cousin on the phone, asking to deliver him a care package. The woman on the phone appeared “to indicate that someone named James Talarico had recently been discharged.”

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The claims were put to rest later on Sunday, however, when the Lindner Center of Hope addressed them on social media.

“Representative James Talarico has never received treatment from Lindner Center of Hope,” the facility asserted on X.

Talarico himself also commented on the situation, saying, “I’ve never even been to Ohio😂"

Kelly acknowledged the responses from both Talarico and the Lindner Center, including the on-air statement he gave to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth in response to the claims on Sunday.

“I just had the flu, and I feel much better,” he told the outlet, adding it was “not true” that he was hospitalized for psychiatric care. “But it’s a good reminder that you can’t believe everything you read on the internet.”

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When contacted by the Daily Beast Sunday night, Talarico spokesperson JT Ennis pointed to his response to Sortor’s claims on X: “This is a lie designed to promote a pathetic conspiracy theory. Last week James Talarico was home in Austin, Texas recovering from the flu.”

The scandal-ridden Paxton has pounced on the chance to diminish his opponent ahead of the midterms, as the young state rep has given his Trump-endorsed foe a run for his money.

Most recent polls show Talarico leading the Texas attorney general by single digits, according to The New York Times aggregate, leading many Republicans to worry that he could become the ruby-red state’s first Democratic senator since 1993.

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Vic VerbalaitisNight Breaking News Reporter

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