WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and Attorney General Ken Paxton attacked James Talarico at a rally in San Antonio Wednesday night over his recent illness-induced absence from the campaign trail, with Trump later calling for a debate between the two.

Talarico has been off the trail because he was diagnosed with the flu, his campaign said. Meanwhile, Trump’s call for Talarico to “immediately report to a Debate Stage” — meant as a jab at the Democrat’s absence — put the spotlight instead on Paxton, who has not publicly accepted any invitations for an onstage faceoff.

Talarico, who has agreed to four debates and hounded Paxton for refusing to participate, seized on the opening. “President Trump just said Ken Paxton should debate,” he posted on X. “I agree. Ball’s in your court @KenPaxtonTX.”

Talarico has been off the trail since late September. He revealed his illness during a Sept. 30 event with the U.S. Hispanic Business Council, which he joined virtually.

“I guess I’ve been shaking too many hands on the campaign trail, and so I want to keep everybody safe,” he said, noting he’d been diagnosed at a Dallas urgent care the night before. “If I was passing on this illness to somebody and got someone’s grandmother or baby sick, I … couldn’t live with myself”

The Austin Democrat has not appeared in public since then.

Talarico spokesperson JT Ennis said the candidate will return to the campaign trail soon. He is scheduled to appear at a CNN town hall on Wednesday next week.

Texas’ U.S. Senate race is a highly competitive contest, with Talarico holding a narrow polling lead in a race that could decide which party controls the upper chamber. Democrats have gone 32 years since their last statewide election win in Texas, their longest active drought in any state.

Early voting begins Oct. 19, and Election Day is 26 days away.

At Wednesday’s rally, Paxton led rallygoers in a “Where is James Talarico?” chant after opening his speech by asking the crowd, “Where do you think they hid that little socialist?”

Paxton’s campaign has also blasted Talarico for canceling campaign events yet attending a Sept. 28 fundraiser in New York. Campaign spokesperson Madison Cercy previously said the Democrat “found the energy to fly to New York and grovel for billionaire checks, but he can’t find the courage to go to the Rio Grande Valley and meet with Hispanic business owners.”

The New York fundraiser took place the night before Talarico was admitted to urgent care, according to the timeline he relayed to the Hispanic Business Council.

Paxton’s campaign has continued to make hay of Talarico’s absence, funding missing person posters of the Democrat around the state.

Trump, meanwhile, incorporated Talarico’s illness into his frequent campaign riff where he claims the Democrat is a vegan who gets sick after eating meat purely for show. Talarico eats meat.

“You haven’t seen him in a couple of weeks,” Trump said Wednesday. “I hear the guy has disappeared — nobody knows. You know where he is? He’s sick, because he’s forced to eat meat for political reasons and he’s throwing up all over the place.”

In a Truth Social post after the rally, Trump wrote that Talarico was “MISSING IN ACTION” and questioned what is “wrong with him.”

“He should immediately report to a Debate Stage against Ken Paxton, who is ready, willing and able, one of the best Attorney Generals in the Country, and will soon be, hopefully, a United States Senator representing the Great People of Texas!” Trump wrote.

Ennis, the Talarico spokesperson, said in a statement that the Democrat has held “more than 100 public events” during the campaign. He also accused Paxton of “ignoring Texans this entire campaign.”

Talarico has previously accepted four debate invitations — from CNN, Hearst, Nexstar and WFAA — as well as challenging Paxton to a debate on Fox News, moderated by Brett Baier, in late September. The network said it would host the showdown if both candidates agreed to it. But Paxton has not accepted those invitations and the candidates have not appeared onstage together, despite a Paxton spokesperson saying in July that “of course we’re going to debate.”

Paxton did not debate his opponents in any of his three campaigns for attorney general. His campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s call for a debate.