Mitch McConnell's Colleagues Say He's Alive, Talking On The Phone

[shelshaw]

AI Anyone???

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/latest-news-live-updates_n_6a4b6bc0e4b05c9d0338a117/liveblog_6a4d4697e4b0a7adb6d7d9e6?origin=home-latest-news-unit

In an apparently coordinated effort to show Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is alive and on the mend, a handful of his allies made statements Tuesday saying they have spoken to the senator in the past day and discussed a variety of issues.

“I spoke to my old friend Mitch McConnell this morning, the senior Senator from Kentucky,” conservative pundit Scott Jennings said on social media. “He’s still recovering in the hospital. We talked for just shy of 20 minutes … about IRAN, UKRAINE, the unfolding situation in MAINE, my visit to the TR Presidential Library, and even a little bit of Senate history. I told him we want to see him back at work as soon as possible.”

Aides to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) separately said they’ve spoken to McConnell, too, as the 84-year-old senator has been mysteriously hospitalized for weeks.

A Thune spokesperson confirmed to HuffPost that he spoke to McConnell on Monday by phone. The two had “a lengthy and substantive conversation that covered a variety of topics, including national security," NOTUS reporter Al Weaver said on social media.

Barrasso and McConnell spoke Tuesday for 20 minutes, according to Weaver, and “caught up about the latest news impacting Senate races, the Graham Platner scandal, and the recent Supreme Court ruling on coordinated spending limits. They also discussed the Senate’s July work period, including the need to pass the NDAA and confirm President Trump’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence. Senator McConnell was fully engaged and is eager to get back to the Senate.”

[wcmagumba]

1. Cough, BS...

[Sneederbunk]

2. And TSF talked to Teddy Roosevelt too.

[dem4decades]

3. He should do an interview then.

[wcmagumba]

5. Thune regularly chats with Gandhi and Jesus too...uh huh...

[JustAnotherGen]

6. They are lying

He's dead

[Dulcinea]

10. Maybe technically not dead

He's most probably on life support.

[republianmushroom]

37. believe you are correct.

[Wiz Imp]

34. Insanity. It's advantageous for Republicans for McConnell to die ASAP

[Ars Longa]

7. Calling BS on Thune... Independently verify, or

it's all lies!!

[Wiz Imp]

33. Why would he lie? It's advantageous for Republicans for McConnell to die ASAP

[B.See]

8. Right. And there were throngs of people

at Trump's July 4th clown fest.

Lying bstrds.

[dweller]

9. MAGA was demanding proof of life

But after a visit with JFK jr they decided to wait a bit longer …





✌🏻

[struggle4progress]

11. Few details from aides

Published Tue, Jul 7 20262:45 PM EDT

Kevin Breuninger
Emily Wilkins

... McConnell ... was admitted to the hospital on June 14 ...

A spokesman for the senator at the time confirmed the hospitalization and said he “is receiving excellent care,” but gave no other information ...

Asked by CNBC on Tuesday for the latest available information about McConnell’s health, the senator’s office provided the same brief statement it released last week, saying the senator “appreciates the outpouring of support he’s receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital” ...

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/07/mitch-mcconnell-health-senate-gop.html

[Smilo]

12. If he can talk that long

then he should be discharged & not be bed-blocking.

[dweller]

14. well ... 20 minutes may not produce much

https://m.

&pp=0gcJCWQCo7VqN5tD





😐



✌🏻

[Wiz Imp]

32. OMG. Now we have someone here advoccating releasing hospital patients

if they can talk for 20 minutes. Do you know how insaane that sounds? Wow!

[Smilo]

42. S-a-r-c-a-s-m n/t

[Nanjeanne]

13. Well then Im sure he would be happy to talk to his Democratic colleagues as well. Surely one of his

old friends can give him a call to see how he’s doing. Obviously with those weighty conversations he would welcome a good laugh and a game of gin rummy.

[pat_k]

15. I suspect there is some advantage to him "dying" after the cut off for ...

...the special election to coincide with the mid-terms.

My prediction: Within days after the cutoff it will be announced that he died of "complications" (I.e., they pulled the plug).

Gemini summary (apply whatever level of skepticism you apply to all AI)

If a vacancy occurs during the 2026 election cycle, the process operates as follows:

Special Election Requirement: Rather than choosing a successor himself, Gov. Beshear must call a special election.

November 3 General Election: If an early vacancy occurs prior to the filing deadline or late-summer cutoff, the race to finish out McConnell's current term (which expires in January 2027) will simply coincide with the regularly scheduled November 3 general election.

The Legal Uncertainty: While the law explicitly mandates a special election, some legal observers and Democrats speculate Gov. Beshear could challenge the constitutionality of this measure in court to attempt an appointment.

[wcmagumba]

17. This sounds plausible after all, the Republicans are the creepiest of creeps...

[pat_k]

18. Cutoff is 8/3. The more I think about it, the more positive I am this is what they intend.

I am sure they are loathe to have his seat filled in a high-turnout, likely blue tsunami, election.

They may be unable to keep his brain-dead condition under wraps for another three weeks though. Someone will leak, unless they have him on life support in some high security location.

More from Gemini (same caveat)

Under Kentucky’s succession laws (specifically House Bill 622 passed in 2024), if Senator Mitch McConnell’s seat becomes vacant on or before August 3 (three months prior to the general election), the Governor must issue a proclamation to fill the vacancy through a special election that coincides with the midterms on November 3.

[Wiz Imp]

31. NOTHING is gained by Republicans if McConnell remains in an incapacitated state

The timing is completely irrelevant. See post 27

[Blue Owl]

16. This update is completely believable, confirmed solely from the GOP's most loyal insiders and nobody else

[Totally Tunsie]

19. Proof of Life, please...

a photo of Mitch awake and holding today's newspaper.

How difficult would that be?

[shelshaw]

23. Ask Teddy Roosevelt

[Torchlight]

20. I think his colleagues are lying

(I admit my opinion lacks 'evidence and reaching sound conclusions based on that evidence.' but as I'm not a jurist, any verdict I reach is without consequence)

[Wiz Imp]

30. Why? Republicans gain nothing by having him in the Senate in aan incapacitated state

see post 27

[Buckeyeblue]

21. Are these individuals breaking a law by lying?

My guess is no. And MSM will not hold them accountable regardless.

[durablend]

24. Of course not, and they'll counter with

"HAS ANYONE SPOKEN WITH JOE BIDEN LATELY?!?!? HMMMMM........"

[Wiz Imp]

29. what do they gain by lying? It's counterproductive to pretend he's alive if he's dead

see post 27

[Bristlecone]

22. All of a sudden he's a regular party line

Total bullshit.

[Jirel]

25. Schroedinger's Senator.

There is neither proof of life nor death until they get him together with a highly regarded political reporter who will talk to him in person.

[bdamomma]

26. I doubt

McConnell is okay, just lies coming from this regime.

[Wiz Imp]

28. For what purpose? It's counterproductive to pretend he's aalive if he's dead.

See post 27

[Wiz Imp]

27. Sheesh. Not everything is a Republican conspiracy.

Republicans gain NOTHING by keeping an incapacitated McConnell in the Senate. If he were truly brain dead Republicans would be racing to try to set up the special election. Otherwise, they will be down a Trump supporting vote. It's all but guaranteed a Republican would win a special election. But from this point forward until that position is filled, they only have 52 votes in the Senate, not 53. McConnell can not vote if he's not present. For example, now Democrats only need 3 Republicans to vote against confirming Blanche as AG to kill his nomination. With that position filled with a Republican, Democrats would need 4 votes.

[J_William_Ryan]

35. Whatever happens,

Republicans will still control that seat in the Senate.

[Wiz Imp]

38. Except they don't as long as McConnell is incapacitated or if he dies.

For now, it's as if the seat is vacant. From this point forward, unless McConnell recovers (super unlikely) Republicans have only 52 votes in the Senate instead of 53. That means Democrats only need 3 Republicans to defect (instead of 4) to quash aanything that requires just a simple majority vote (like Todd Blanche's nomination for AG)

[Bluestocking]

36. I feel reassured

Since I know Republicans never lie McConnell is clearly recovering.

[NotASurfer]

39. I'll believe it when Herman Caine tweets from beyond the grave again

And confirms that the Senator is not in fact on the same plane of existence

(I remember after Mr Caine died from Covid that his Twitter account lurched back to life some months later stating COVID wasn't so bad in response to something. Apparently it was a family member who failed to clarify the Twitter account would keep going, and not Zombie Herman Caine as it originally seemed. In my imagination at least, that's now the best source of information from the realm of the dead)

[enid602]

40. Mitch

Poor Mitch. He must look like ET by now.

[bluestarone]

41. One question, Did he SPEAK to you?

Has that been asked? If so has it been answered?