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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGOP senator blindsides McConnell with claim his 'proof-of-life' might be an old photo
Johnson knows that the McConnell photo is a fake
Sen. Ron Johnson blindsided his own party this week, going on television to cast doubt on a fellow Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell's "proof-of-life" photograph, on the same day President Donald Trump said he doesn't know if McConnell was "fine.
— Raw Story (@rawstory.com) 2026-07-14T15:00:29.565Z
https://www.rawstory.com/ron-johnson-2677220359/
McConnell's office released the image over the weekend, showing the 84-year-old Kentucky senator sitting up in a hospital bed alongside his wife, former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao. He is pictured holding the Washington Post's sports section dated that Sunday. An accompanying statement said McConnell had fallen and was "briefly unconscious," had dealt with a "mild case of pneumonia," and had not suffered a heart attack or stroke.
Appearing on "The Balance" on Real America's Voice, the Wisconsin Republican told host Eric Bolling that a source tipped him off about the picture.
"I just heard from some some other source that was an older photo, so I really don't know," Johnson said, after Bolling asked whether he believed McConnell had personally shared the photo and statement.
"I haven't talked to Mitch," Johnson added. "I sincerely wish his family well. I hope he can recover... Listen it's sad to watch people age, no matter who that person is."
The broadside landed hours after Trump poured cold water on McConnell's reemergence during a Newsmax interview. Asked by host Greg Kelly about the senator's outlook, Trump was conspicuously lukewarm.
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(10,251 posts)Coventina
(30,174 posts)Srkdqltr
(10,251 posts)AZJonnie
(4,321 posts)does not mean that he is not, in fact, severely mentally compromised.
I don't think the photo is actually an old photo with a current newspaper added onto it, personally (that's a bit too CT for me, coming from the Senator's own office as it was). However ALL it really tells anyone is that "he lives and is capable of sitting up and giving a smile, from time to time", nothing more.
If it turns out his own office doctored an old photo and released it as proof-of-life, that is going to be something that is just *really* over-the-top. And more importantly I don't get the purpose of doing so. It's not like he's casting Senate votes while he's away, so what is the point of carrying on such a facade? I've yet to see anyone convincingly answer that question, so I come down on the side that the photo is probably real, but it may be highly deceptive in terms of his actual health situation.
Also, Ron Johnson saying 'he heard it may be an old photo' should not be given that much weight. Dude has been known to glom on to conspiracy theories based on little evidence in the past. I mean, he's a 9/11 "truther" who *recently* claimed that WTC 7 was brought down by controlled demolition. He's also claimed the whole Jan 6th narrative is false, and actually caused by antifa and/or plainclothes FBi provocateurs. So, I wouldn't place too much weight on him saying that kind of stuff, because he does it all the time
LetMyPeopleVote
(184,951 posts)If McConnell dies before August 3, then the Democratic governor can replace him. I believe that these assholes are hiding McConnell's death