Rumors are swirling, in MAGA circles and beyond, that former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is on the brink of death, or worse, after a recent health scare, and as one long-tenured political reporter told The Hill, his handling of the situation has only made matters worse.
McConnell has, according to his staff, been hospitalized for the last several weeks after the Kentucky senator was found unresponsive. Later reports suggested that he might have suffered from cardiac arrest and required CPR efforts. Coupled with incidents in the recent past in which he suffered a concussion following a fall, and multiple instances of appearing to go blank in public, the situation has reignited concerns about his health in a major way.
"McConnell has appeared frail while maneuvering around the Senate’s crowded hallways this year," The Hill detailed. "He is often pushed through the Capitol by staff in a wheelchair, and when he walks into the Senate chamber, he usually has an aide or security detail — or two — by his side to help steady him."
Given that he has not been seen in public since that incident, rumors have also been swirling that he might already be dead, or at least close, with conspiracy theories suggesting that Republicans are keeping his true condition secret to protect his Senate seat. McConnell's staff has continued to claim that his condition is improving and that he is receiving top-notch care.
Speaking with The Hill for a Tuesday morning report, Al Cross, whom the outlet described as "Kentucky’s longest-tenured political observer, who’s interviewed McConnell at length in recent weeks," said that the secretive approach that the senator's office took with communicating about his condition has only made the speculation about him worse.
"They’re causing themselves problems by not saying more about it, but he’s always been very private about his health matters," Cross said.
In response to this secretive situation, even prominent MAGA boosters like Laura Loomer have begun spreading speculation that McConnell's is not expected to return to the Senate. Loomer on Monday cited a "high level source close to the White House" who said that the senator's condition is worse than expected, with Desirée Townsend, the digital journalist who was among the first to share emergency dispatch audio from McConnell's case, responding that she had "heard the same thing from my sources for days."
For his part, Cross was not convinced about the speculation surrounding the Senator.
"I believe McConnell will return to the Senate,” he added. “We have very little news that’s reliable. This cardiac arrest thing appears to have been the supposition of a dispatcher, not somebody on the scene. My gut tells me he’s coming back."
