As rumors swirl that Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is brain dead after suffering from a stroke, heart attack or other serious medical incident, the social media platform X is erupting with sentiment — but not of the sympathetic kind.
“Mitch McConnell remaining technically alive for an extra three weeks because of a manipulative procedural maneuver is exactly how he would have wanted to go out,” posted cryptocurrency journalist David Z. Morris. Similarly far right influencer Laura Loomer, who is reportedly close to President Donald Trump, wrote that “a very high level source told me Mitch McConnell is officially brain dead and machines are keeping him alive, but he is a vegetable and ‘never coming back.’”
Loomer added, “So why is his wife @ElaineChao in China instead of by his side? Is she a Chinese CCP spy? How does the wife of one of the most powerful US Senators just travel to China? Is she coming back from China? Who is she meeting with in China? Will she be the one to pull the plug?”
Journalist Desiree Townsend, who has long covered the story about McConnell’s health, posted under Loomer’s tweet that “I have heard the same thing from my sources for days. At this point, I am at the hospital for when they eventually decide to move cut him off of life support and move his body. His Capitol police detail is still here as of 3:39pm ET.”
Similarly the wrap-up interview host for Megyn Kelly’s program, Emily Jashinsky, wrote that “this makes it even more bizarre that his wife was meeting with the CCP in Beijing last week about ‘future bilateral relations.’”
Breitbart News’ Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle was outraged, tweeting that “if this is true, and I have no idea if it is, it is exactly the disgraceful end to Mitch McConnell (his disgusting consultants covering up his end of life) that we should have all expected.”
Boyle continued, “Frankly, also, every single person who currently knows for sure the status of Mitch McConnell if this is true should never work in politics again. There should be a massive criminal investigation into this as well.”
On the other side of the aisle, liberal-leaning podcast host David Pakman wrote that “a source that has been directly in contact with my team has told us that Senator Mitch McConnell has been unconscious in the hospital for the last 3 weeks, and this has been kept a secret.”
Finally there was grassroots political organizing group Really American, who posted that “we’ve reached out to Senator Mitch McConnell for a statement, but have not yet received a response.”
Last week licensed-speech language pathologist Hilary Shae commented that McConnell’s apparent symptoms raise questions about whether he is fit to serve in the Senate, saying that “even if he is alive, he is unfit to serve, and he should not be finishing out his term through January. Mitch McConnell is 84 years old, and his health history is not good. He has a history of multiple falls — one of which was significant for concussion — and what appeared to be TIAs, or transient ischemic attacks, and it does not appear that he really came back to his full self. He did not return to his baseline after his concussion.”
McConnell has occasionally been vocal, despite his apparent health issues. When it came out in May that President Donald Trump had created a $1.8 billion slush fund for supporters, including those who were involved in the Jan. 6th insurrection attempt, McConnell reportedly said that, “So the nation’s top law enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops? Utterly stupid, morally wrong – Take your pick.”