Or brain dead....

This is ridiculous. Politicians make statements all the time when there is a medical issue or emergency. If nothing else, he owes that to his constituents.

It's weird, but its not unique.

See for example: Kay Granger
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/03/14/kay-granger-dementia-dc-media-00210317

Frederica Wilson
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/frederica-wilson-democrat-absence-congress-b2976802.html

but it is inexcusable to just blow off the voters leaving them wondering if their representative is coming back or is at death's door. Meanwhile, they have staff who should be putting out timely press releases.

Seems to be an attribute belonging to Republicans, right?

i don't recall how regularly we got updates on Dianne Feinstein's condition.

If politicians are getting away with this - which they obviously are - then this is something that I would add to the list of things we need to fix when Democrats get back into power.

My opinion is that constituents should be entitled to know the ability of their elected representatives to be able to actually and physically represent them at all times. When someone seeks public office, there is an expectation for a loss of privacy to a degree, at least. That should include being healthy enough to do the job for which they were elected.

Just my two cents...

Have a great evening!!!

The dispatch call referenced CPR. An 80+ year old is going to have significant damage from CPR....

I’m not buying this story at all. It seems like the gop has used grahams death to further try to muddy the waters about McConnell’s condition.

The timing is suspicious. Within hours of Graham's death, Mitch reappears with newspaper "proof of life."

Not buying it.

Graham was in an oxygen mask and mechanic chest compressor on his body.

And why couldn't his family and his offer offer this explanation earlier????
Strange IMHO.


“My doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion. I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don’t have any tumors or hemorrhages. But I was briefly unconscious and was taken to the hospital."

Hospitalized for a month for falling down and having a mild case of pneumonia. Now he's been moved to a rehab center.

— Mueller, She Wrote (@muellershewrote.com) 2026-07-12T21:30:51.154Z

ya know?

Piles and piles of bullshit! If Mitch looked that well, they would’ve had him on tv mumbling. That’s an old picture. He hasn’t looked that well in years. They need to stop playing mind games.

I think he's still dead.

Link to tweet

but in this new age of AI is it real or is it memorex? Plus I haven't seen any articles where Elaine Chao
returned to the U.S., not saying she didn't, I just haven't seen any and I believe with all the speculation
about Mitch's where abouts any reporter that seen her return from overseas would have reported on it.
I want to see him talk and answer questions, until then I'm a doubting Thomas.

NT

He'd have to hold up that newspaper plainly showing the date.

So, why not!

Amazing what you can do with computers. Like make the two if them smile when in the same room

The most recommended DU thread on McConnell claims that it has been "shown to be a fake", despite the clear evidence in the thread that shows the supposed photo from a few years before is the fake.

It's now at the point where there seems little purpose in showing evidence of anything on DU, because so many DUers are determined to believe what they want to, without regard to evidence, likelihood or reason. I suppose the evidence is still useful for the reality-based section of DU.

Not dead yet!:

sarcasm:

He was walking along with aides and others and all of a sudden made a sound and crumpled. The sound preceded his fall. And the fall didn't look very serious. He had a neurological incident, again.

Is there any proof of he wrote this statement himself? If not, it's rather irresponsible to report this in such a definitive manner, IMHO.

Has the picture that was released with the statement, referred to in the article, include any actual proof of life, presently? I mean, the guy has been in hospital plenty of times in the past.

I mean, personally I doubt MM is actually dead-dead. But "not physically/mentally capable of composing a statement of this nature" involves a different degree of speculation. As long as someone is not ruled dead yet, there's going to be a lot of latitude WRT what legally needs to be publicly revealed. But someone dying is much more a matter of public record.

They can make an AI chat voice sound like anybody.

That picture means nothing. It could be real or fake. For one thing, he looked like death warmed over in the last known photos of him. In this picture he looks amazingly good for someone that has been in the hospital for weeks. Also the hands have that not quite right AI texture. The newspaper is a nice touch, but it's almost too convenient.

He may be alive... he may be dead. He may be in-between. He really is the Schrodinger's senator! I don't trust him, nor do I trust anything from any republican mouthpiece. They lie as easy as they breathe.

Kinda like they do with kidnap victims to prove they are alive. Kinda funny they pose it this way; seems they are trying too hard to prove that he is.

Just makes me wonder if he really is still kicking.

Chao Chao's response:

Elaine Chao, wife of Mitch McConnell, issues statement after US return
Courier Journal
July 10, 2026, 12:28 p.m. ET

Is there an underlying condition that precipitated the fall? He certainly didn't fall on his head; no marks or bruising there.
Nothing I can see on his hands or wrists either.
I know, baseless speculation, but a month is a long time to be incognito as a US Senator.

should have retired long ago

Falls
In August 2019, McConnell fractured his shoulder in a fall at his Louisville home.[228] In March 2023, he was hospitalized for five days after a fall; he was treated for a concussion and a minor rib fracture,[229] and did not return to the Senate for almost six weeks.[230] In July 2023, he fell while disembarking from a plane at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.[231] On December 10, 2024, McConnell fell during a Senate Republican Conference policy luncheon, spraining his wrist and cutting his face.[232] On October 16, 2025, he fell at the US Capitol Building while being doorstepped by an amateur reporter, whose cameraman recorded the incident.[233]

Freezing episodes
On July 26, 2023, McConnell prompted worldwide media reports when he froze, unspeaking, for around 20 seconds while addressing a press conference.[234] He was escorted away by aides, but returned a few minutes later and said he was "fine".[235] Two days after the incident, his spokespersons said that McConnell would continue in his leadership role; he is the institution's longest-serving party leader.[236] On August 30, 2023, he again froze during a press conference in Covington, Kentucky, and was eventually led away by staff.[237] A day later, McConnell released a letter from the attending physician of Congress that said he was "medically clear" to continue his schedule as planned;[238] the letter said that the physician had talked to McConnell and "conferred with his neurology team", but did not indicate that he had physically examined McConnell.[239]

A little heart problem, possibly ?

should go to the rehab center and check on him.

that sounds like something a PR MBA would type up and send to the AP. The excuse sounds phony as hell. "Boomers don't talk about their health"

AP collaborates by making it sound like he actually talked to them.

That picture with his wife looks AI. Isn't she in China? The pillow seems to be supported against a wall angle, but there is no bend or corresponding dimple. The depth between Mitch and pillow looks wrong.

It's all 1s and 0s . McMatrix.

pre-boomer.
I guess "Silent refers to "silent majority".

The first time I heard of the baby boom, it was defined as the period 45-54, the ten years following WWII and ex-soldiers starting families. Lately people squeeze the definition in to statisticians' preferences for 20 year spans and say 45-64. This is incredibly misleading, because there is a huge difference between the first ten year cohort and the second.

Not buying it.

.........political in either case.

Where are his IVs? IVs are the last thing to be removed on a patient just before release in case of problems. Also, one isn’t allowed to get fully dressed for the same reason. Jeans and a button down? I think not and call BS. AI crap.

that they generally don't have IVs and typically dress in street clothes, like jeans and a button down shirt.

I'm happy for the fact that you've been spared having anyone close to you in rehab.

Hard for them to admit they were wrong.

Even saw a post demanding that a judge could rule HIPPA did not apply and force his medical records to be released.

People constantly gripe about AI being fake, yet are just fine with just making shit up and posting it here like it is true.

only the good die young..............

Total bullshit. I mean, come on! If this was all that was going on, Republicans would have been happy and relieved, and could have stopped the speculation. How many falls have been caught in the public venue anyway? It's not like people don't know he's dealing with age and health issues.

The photo looks "off" to me. I'm not saying it's AI. Maybe it's the angle. She appears to be kneeling beside his chair perhaps. His face and hands look swollen to me, and honestly, I've never known anyone in rehab that would wear jeans and a button down shirt. It's usually sweats, at least, which are easier to get into and out of.

The whole "she's in China" story was suspicious, too, and the newspaper? He's got a weird grip on it, or else his hand is paralyzed in that position. Very convenient... a little TOO convenient.

Paramedics conducted CPR on a person experiencing a “cardiac arrest” at a known address for Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on the day his office disclosed he had been hospitalized, according to police scanner audio obtained by NBC News.

According to the audio, the first medic on the scene began performing CPR, according to the dispatchers, and was then joined by an additional EMS team at the same address.


https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/paramedics-responded-cardiac-arrest-mcconnells-home-day-hospitalizatio-rcna352660]

The 2026 Statement: McConnell broke nearly a month of silence following his June 14, 2026, hospitalization with a statement released via News Nation.Photo Origins: Social media sleuths quickly pointed out that the smiling photo of McConnell and his wife, Elaine Chao, is identical to the picture originally circulated in March 2023 following a severe fall and concussion, as noted on Facebook.The Newspaper Detail: While the 2023 hospital photo was reused, the newspaper McConnell is holding in his hand appears to have been digitally updated to a current edition (such as a recent Washington Post sports section) to act as a "proof of life," according to New York Magazine.Continued Scrutiny: The reuse of this photograph—combined with his wife's recent trip to China—has fueled intense internet speculation regarding the transparency and actual status of the senator's health, as reported by The Daily Beast.

Show the world a live body, not a staged (possibly fake) photo.

I also don’t believe anything that comes out of a Trump supporter’s mouth as well.

it will all be above board according to Trump and the right.

Yeah bullshit!

They lie, and then they lie about the lying, and then they lie about the lying about the lying.

End of story.