'Would rather die': Elaine Chao’s family friend exposes 'implausible' detail in new photo

A journalist professing to be a family friend of Sen. Mitch McConnell's wife has called out his latest "proof of life" photo, per The Daily Beast, exposing a detail about her that is "just implausible."

McConnell's office has released two photos of the former Senate Majority Leader and his wife, former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, since his hospitalization in mid-June, attempting to establish that he is alive and recovering. The lack of transparency about his condition, as well as the lack of video evidence of his condition since then, has left many people unconvinced about his state, leading to numerous conspiracy theories claiming that he is either dead already or close to it.

In response to the latest photo, released by his staff this week, journalist and podcaster Jeff Yang spoke out on BlueSky, calling out a questionable detail about Chao's outfit. Yang claims to have been acquainted with two of Chao's "apolitical sisters" since college, and found the detail completely out-of-character.

"I've known members of the Chao family — specifically, Elaine’s apolitical sisters (Grace and the late Angela) — since our college years," Yang wrote. "I can’t imagine Elaine, one of the most put-together people in existence, releasing a pic wearing a thin shirt over a visible black bra, UNTUCKED. Just implausible."

Yang followed up later with another post, after uncovering a further detail about the outfit, claiming that the Chao he knows would rather "die" than be caught wearing such a thing.

"Most implausible aspect of the image: ELAINE IS DEPICTED WEARING A $12 CHICO’S SHIRT," Yang wrote. "HOLY CRAP SHE WOULD RATHER DIE."

The Daily Beast noted in its report that Yang declined to comment further on the matter. He has also not posted anything further about it, including what might be the cause of the discrepancy, though many others have tried to argue that the photos are AI-generated, which could explain such inconsistent details. Others have noted that the photos are short on details and do not definitively rule out the senator still being in poor health.

In a different post responding to BlueSky users urging him to reach out to find out more about McConnell's health, Yang stressed that he has not been in touch with the Chao family in years.

“This isn’t the kind of thing you lead with for someone you haven’t seen for a while,” Yang wrote. “Also, the family is tight-knit and private, and I doubt she’d want to comment. Regardless everything will unravel soon.”