A Jumbotron set up in the parking lot of Freeman Colesium on Wednesday streams President Trump’s speech. Credit: Cooper Shield

President Donald Trump, during a Wednesday rally in San Antonio, expounded on a right-wing conspiracy theory that Democratic congressional candidate James Talarico is a secret vegan forced to eat meat while campaigning.

Indeed, during his rambling two-hour speech at Freeman Coliseum, Trump went so far as to suggest that Talarico, who’s taken a recent campaign break after contracting the flu, is sick because his body is rejecting barbecue.

“Now he says he loves meat, but he’s a vegan,” Trump said. “See, Melania, I got that right. Vegan. He’s a vegan! He wants to eat a piece of lettuce. A little piece of lettuce, please.”

Trump continued: “I hear the guy’s disappeared. Nobody knows. You know where he is? He’s sick because he’s been forced to eat meat for political reasons, and he’s throwing up all over the place. He’s sick. We’re all looking. Nobody can find him.”

Talarico’s campaign confirmed to the Current on Wednesday that the Austin-area state rep was diagnosed with the flu last week and is avoiding in-person campaign events until he recovers.

“After holding more than 100 public events and meeting with tens of thousands of supporters, James came down with the flu but will be back on the trail soon,” Talarico campaign spokesperson JT Ennis said in a statement.

Although Talarico’s illness has been reported by at least three other news outlets, that didn’t stop Trump from spinning his alternative narrative.

“He forced himself to go to barbecues,” the president told the crowd. “He’d have beautiful barbecues, and he’d show up at a barbecue, and he’d stuff some little ribs down his throat. He’d have little cups of bites. He doesn’t eat big. He’s not a big eater. You can tell by looking at it. But he’d eat, and then what would happen? He’d go back to the tent, and he’d throw up all over the place because he doesn’t want meat.”

Trump’s speech jumped from topic to topic, ranging from border security to his golfing skills. At the event, he also awarded former MLB pitcher Roger Clemens, who’s been accused of using performance-enhancing drugs during his career, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton, whom Trump was there to support, spoke for roughly five minutes. Some of his remarks were nonsensical.

“I want you to think about this,” Paxton said. “The continental divide in the United States. If a drop of rain falls one inch or more on the right side, on the east side, it ends up in the Atlantic Ocean. If it falls one inch on the other side, or more, it ends up in the Pacific Ocean — unless we’ve renamed it. I think that’s possible. This election, we’re not talking about red versus blue. We’re not talking about a moderate Democrat. We’re talking about the Constitutional Republic.”

Although podcaster Paul Rieckhoff marveled at the rally’s turnout during a CNN appearance, proclaiming that it proved Texas “is still very red,” the reality on the ground painted a different picture.

Many seats in the balconies of Freeman, which holds a maximum of 11,700 people for concerts, were empty, and a partition behind the stage cut off access to the rear portion of the arena. At least eight hecklers were ejected during Trump’s remarks, including one who appeared to be assaulted when a MAGA supporter grabbed him by the hair.

MSNOW White House reporter Jake Traylor said in an X post that Wednesday marked the most hecklers he’d witnessed at a Trump rally. Meanwhile, hundreds gathered outside the arena to protest Trump’s appearance.

What’s more, most rally attendees who spoke to the Current said they weren’t from Bexar County but traveled — some for hours — to see Trump speak.

One man told KENS5 in a now-viral X clip that he traveled nine hours to see the president and had camped out in front of Freeman Coliseum since 10 p.m. Monday.

“I just love Trump, that’s why I came this week,” the man said. “I didn’t have nothing better to do anyway.”

With only 25 days until the midterms and Trump’s approval ratings at historic lows, it’s unclear whether the president’s stumping for Paxton and District 35 congressional candidate Carlos De La Cruz will have a significant impact on either race.

Texas politics is a mess. We make it a readable mess.

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Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...