CNN’s conservative commentator Scott Jennings was challenged to call ailing Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell live on air Tuesday to put to bed the increasingly wild rumors swirling over the veteran’s health.
McConnell, 84, has been hospitalized since being found unconscious at his home in Washington, D.C., on June 14 after suffering a suspected heart attack.
Amid an eerie silence from McConnell’s representatives, Jennings had taken to X earlier in the day to say that he had spoken to the former Senate leader and had found him in good spirits.
“I spoke to my old friend Mitch McConnell this morning, the senior Senator from Kentucky,” the pundit wrote.
“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.”
Subsequently on appearing on The Arena with Kasie Hunt, Jennings was asked by the anchor whether McConnell would be willing to dial into the studio from his hospital bed.
“As we wrap up here, do you think he’d be willing to call into the show? Could we get him on the phone now?” Hunt asked.
Her guest carefully brushed aside the request, answering instead: “I wasn’t really expecting him to call this morning, to be honest so when the phone rang and I was able to talk to him, I was frankly pretty grateful.
“I mean, as I said, I’ve known him since I was a teenager. If it hadn’t been for Mitch McConnell and the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville, you know, I would never have been able to go to college. He’s been my mentor, and he changed the trajectory of my life.”
He continued: “So, you know, when things happen to him and happen to people in your life that you really care about, you just sort of naturally feel extremely worried.
“So when I heard his voice today, and he was clearly keeping up with stuff, that made me happy to hear from him because like everybody else, I’ve been, you know, somewhat in the dark about it, but to hear him talking and to know that he’s also talking to the Senate leadership, it made me pretty happy.”
Hunt asked Jennings whether he felt the senator’s team had been sufficiently forthcoming about his difficulties.
“I sometimes wonder, like, if I were laying in a hospital bed, would I want a bunch of people around photographing me?” he answered.
“Probably not. Particularly if I were an 84-year-old person who’s normally private about his health. Probably not.
“But, look, I take the criticism. I think it’s a fair question about transparency. I think it’s a fair question about whether they’ve done enough. But ultimately, these office holders, you know, they’re in charge of their own operations.”
Hunt signed off by saying: “Our phone lines are open here at The Arena should he wish to call in.”
“Long time listener, first time caller,” Jennings grinned.
A McConnell spokesperson told The Independent earlier this week: “Senator McConnell appreciates the outpouring of support he’s receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital.
“The Senator continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.”
The decision by Porter McConnell, the senator’s daughter, earlier this week to delete her X account only added fuel to the bonfire of speculation online about her father’s wellbeing.
Former GOP congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has meanwhile rebuked the Republican Party for allowing the situation to get out of hand by staying silent, telling TMZ she believed McConnell’s condition was “extremely serious.”
Less sensitively, she went on to describe him as “practically dead” and accuse his wife, former Trump cabinet member Elaine Chao, of being a spy for China.
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