Talarico makes first public appearance since flu-induced absence - The Texas Tribune
Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico made his first public appearance at the Austin City Limits music festival following a nine-day absence due to the flu. His return follows intense political pressure and conspiracy theories regarding his health from Republican opponents.
Why it matters
The incident illustrates the high-stakes nature of political campaigning and the rapid spread of misinformation during election cycles.
After a nine-day illness-induced absence from the campaign trail, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico re-emerged Friday with an unannounced appearance at the Austin City Limits music festival.
With early voting fast approaching, Talarico stepped off the trail near the start of last week after revealing he had been diagnosed with the flu. His showing at ACL was his first public appearance since Sept. 30, when he called in virtually to an event with the U.S. Hispanic Business Council. His last scheduled in-person event before that was a Sept. 28 fundraiser in New York with Robert De Niro.
Talarico was seen walking the grounds of Austin’s Zilker Park, the site of ACL, and greeting voters ahead of an expected onstage appearance at the festival Friday afternoon.
Also covering this story
One other newsroom covered this event. We read that version too.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in