π§© BND Motif Index Β· M1787
Proof of life
A candidate or leader drops out of sight, and tellers count the missing days, call the official illness a cover story, demand to see him, and read each brief appearance as staged.
π΅οΈ TheoriesποΈ Politician ArchetypesποΈ Hidden Power & Cover-ups
- 15claims filed under it
- 3left shows it came up on
- 10right shows it came up on
β οΈ A story people tell, not a claim that it's true.
A motif is the shape of a story as its tellers tell it, named the way a folklorist names a tale type, so the same story told about other people, by the other side or in another year lands in the same place. Some of the claims below are true, many are false. Arguing against a story is often a story of its own, its answer (Voter fraud is answered by Voter suppression, Lawfare by No one is above the law), and we file it there; where no answer has a motif yet, the arguments against a story sit with its tellings.
πͺ Its family
what it rests on, what rests on it, and the motifs that answer it
πͺ rests on π§© The ailing king
ποΈ Who it came up with
the shows we follow where its claims came up (3 left-leaning, 0 center, 10 right-leaning so far), colored by the show's lean; the bar is how many of its claims each one heard
- π The Michael Berry Show 11 claims
- π Clay Travis & Buck Sexton 9 claims
- π Bannon's War Room 7 claims
- π The Megyn Kelly Show 4 claims
- π The Matt Walsh Show 2 claims
- π« The MeidasTouch Podcast 2 claims
- π Morning Wire 1 claim
- π PBD Podcast (podcast) 1 claim
- π« Pod Save America 1 claim
- π« The Adam Mockler Show 1 claim
- π The Dan Bongino Show 1 claim
- π Timcast IRL (podcast) 1 claim
- left-leaning
- right-leaning
β 1 more show
ποΈ 1 more shows
"Came up on" means one of its claims was heard on the show: told, reported or argued against. We don't yet mark which. Show leans are our own grouping of the shows we transcribe.
π£οΈ In so many words
the words that carry it
π¬ the tellers' own words: βIf they've got the time stamped video that shows he's at home, they're going to have to show it.β
π§Ά Its claims
what's been told in this shape, in our words, by who told it: newest first in each; a claim's dots are the shows it came up on, in their lean's color (point at them for their names)
Told on the left 0
claims heard on left-leaning shows, and no right-leaning one
π¦ No claim heard only on the left so far.
Told on the right 12
claims heard on right-leaning shows, and no left-leaning one
- 2026-11-02 βTalarico's campaign is said to be using his type 1 diabetes to excuse his long absence, which one host says hides a mental breakdown.β 1
- 2026-11-02 βThe New York Times is said to hold tracker video of Talarico's house it should release to show whether he was home.β 1
- 2026-11-02 βJames Talarico is not actually suffering from the flu during his ten-day absence from the campaign trail.β 2
- 2026-11-02 βJames Talarico's claim of being sick for nine days is suspicious because he did not post any updates.β 2
- 2026-11-02 βJames Talarico is said to be missing: no one has seen him, and some speculate he is having a mental health crisis.β 1
- 2026-10-14 βJames Talarico is said to have gone missing for almost two weeks before the election, with his campaign lying about where he was.β 1
- 2026-10-13 βJames Tallarico has disappeared from the campaign trail for twelve days.β 3
- 2026-10-12 βJames Tallarico's explanation for his absence from the campaign trail is not believable.β 3
- 2026-10-12 βJames Talarico's claims of having the flu are suspicious because he appeared fine during a news conference.β 2
- 2026-10-10 βJames Tallarico's campaign is lying about his absence.β 3
- 2026-10-09 βJames Tallarico is hiding from the campaign trail and is not actually sick with the flu.β 2
- 2026-10-09 βJames Talarico is said to have lied about being in urgent care when he was at a fundraiser in New York.β 1
Told on both sides 3
claims heard on left- and right-leaning shows alike
- 2026-11-01 βJames Talarico's claim of being sick with the flu is a bald-faced lie.β 5
- 2026-10-24 βJames Tallarico is lying about a period of illness and is in a bad situation.β 5
- 2026-10-09 βJames Tallarico's twelve-day absence from the campaign trail is an unusually long time for a flu diagnosis.β 10
M1787 Β· first seen 2026-11-09 Β· last 2026-11-10 Β· what this is Β· how the index works