‘I’m asking for proof of spine from him’: Talarico challenges Paxton to debate

[0:00] Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Tallarico is back on the campaign trail [0:04] and pushing back at conservative-fueled conspiracies about what forced his nine-day absence from the trail. [0:11] Tallarico telling our Phil Prazen from our Dallas-Fort Worth NBC station that he'd been battling the flu. [0:18] Yeah, I got the flu, and I'm feeling much better, and I'm glad I had a chance to recover. [0:22] You know, if you don't take the opportunity to get well, sometimes you can get even sicker, [0:27] and so I'm glad we made the decision to just take the week, get better, and now I'm glad to be back on the trail. [0:33] Conservative folks on Twitter and some of Paxton's ally were pushing the idea that you had a stress-induced episode [0:40] and were getting treatment for it. What are your thoughts? [0:42] That's not true. I just had the flu, and I feel much better. [0:46] But it's a good reminder that you can't believe everything you read on the Internet. [0:50] You don't say. Ken Paxton, Tallarico's Republican opponent, and even President Trump, [0:55] have questioned the nature of Tallarico's absence. [0:57] Paxton even calling him for him to show proof of life. [1:01] Well, he provided that to NBC's Phil Prazen, who joins me now on set to talk more about this. [1:06] You know, Phil, I was in Texas the day that Tallarico basically had to take himself off the campaign trail. [1:11] He gave a Zoom interview with the U.S. Hispanic Business Council. He seemed sick then. [1:17] He did. [1:17] Yeah. How's he feeling now, and how's he responding to some of this fodder that's being spread by conservative activists? [1:23] So, he looked much different from September 30th, the last time we talked, which was, you know, he was coughing. [1:30] He looked under the weather. [1:32] I've known State Representative James Tallarico since when he was first elected to the Texas House in 2018, [1:37] and he appeared to me to be kind of normal of how he normally, you know, looks and acts. [1:43] And it was just strange that he was off the trail for so long because his campaign and he has always been very open and transparent and very accessible to the press. [1:53] When it comes to the, you know, kind of the conspiracy theories of where he was, it's less a story, I think, about James Tallarico and Ken Paxton [2:01] and more a story about how the Internet works in 2026. [2:04] You know, you have a lot of MAGA influencers, Internet sleuths, keyboard warriors who jump to conclusions sometimes. [2:13] So, they found this plane that went from Austin to Ohio around this mental health facility. [2:19] Which literally could have been anyone. [2:21] It could have been anyone. [2:22] Supposedly, there's a James Tallarico who lives in Ohio, not the state representative. [2:25] And somebody actually called that facility in the middle of the night and recorded the phone call pretending to be Tallarico's extended family. [2:35] Not something recommended to do. [2:37] And that kind of made it a thing on the Internet so much so that the facility put out a statement saying that State Representative Tallarico has never been treated there. [2:47] And then James Tallarico put out a statement saying he's never even been to the state of Ohio. [2:51] So, it just appears to be not true at all. [2:55] And you cannot believe everything you see on the Internet. [2:58] And it also makes you wonder how Republicans are feeling about their position in this race, if they felt the need to go down this road. [3:05] Now, you also spoke to Tallarico about the possibility of a debate between him and Ken Paxton. [3:11] This is something even President Trump is calling for. [3:14] What did he say about that? [3:14] At his rally, President Trump said that Ken Paxton is ready, willing, and able to debate. [3:19] Ken Paxton apparently is not going to at this point. [3:24] This will be the first time since the year 2000 that the two candidates have not done a debate for a U.S. Senate seat from the state of Texas. [3:33] So, it is rare. [3:34] Usually, we get at least one. [3:36] Governor Abbott has not agreed to a debate either. [3:38] And I think it shows that this is a very competitive race where, you know, there's the saying that you cannot win a race in a debate, but you certainly can lose a race in a debate. [3:51] And I think that they are just the Paxton folks are being overly cautious and not trying to risk a big screw up. [3:58] And let's play what Tallarico told you about that debate. [4:03] I think Ken Paxton should debate. [4:05] The president is saying he should debate. [4:07] Fox News has said he should debate. [4:08] The people of Texas have said he should debate. [4:11] And I think it's mysterious that Ken Paxton hasn't responded to a request for a debate in 85 days. [4:20] I hear that people are getting really concerned about the attorney general. [4:23] And, you know, I've heard rumors that he has a rare medical condition that causes clinical levels of cowardice. [4:29] So, I know Ken Paxton has asked for proof of life from me. [4:33] I'm asking for proof of spine from him. [4:36] Ryan, that's a shot at what Ken Paxton has been saying, looking for a proof of life. [4:42] It's not looking for a proof of spine. [4:44] But it seems, from your vibe, this debate probably isn't happening. [4:47] Probably not. [4:47] Okay. [4:48] All right. [4:48] Phil Prazen, great to have you in New York. [4:49] Good to see you. [4:50] And good luck the last 22 days of this campaign. [4:53] You might be in one of the more important states. [4:54] So, just a little piece of advice from me. [4:56] The stakes are high. [4:57] Yeah. [4:57] All right. [4:57] Thanks, Mel.