Rep. Ilhan Omar says she's not convinced Senator Mitch McConnell is doing well despite the recent proof of life photo released by his office ... questioning why we haven't heard McConnell speak yet.
Our TMZ DC team caught up with the Congresswoman from Minnesota on Wednesday ... and we asked about her the online theory that photo showing him a rehab facility with his wife is doctored.
Rep. Omar says it looks like A.I. to her ... adding she has read some compelling arguments online which back up the claim, and she's personally hung up on why we haven't seen McConnell on video.
As internet sleuths dissect Mitch McConnell's proof-of-life photo, his wife Elaine Chao surfaced in the flesh ... leaving the rehabilitation center where the Senator is recovering ... we've got a photo ... and it's authentic.
The former U.S. Secretary of Labor was spotted Tuesday making a low-key exit from the rehab facility where the longtime Kentucky Senator is recovering after suffering a fall last month. It's the first time Chao has been seen in public since McConnell was hospitalized -- aside from the now-infamous photo that sent social media into overdrive.
Chao kept things understated, wearing a face mask and keeping her head down as she left the medical center and climbed into a waiting vehicle.
Mitch McConnell's proof of life photo isn't putting speculation about his health to bed ... it's keeping it on life support.
Kara Swisherand Scott Gallowayare the latest high-profile voices to scrutenize the McConnell photo, with Scott flat-out saying, "I think it's fake." Kara calls the photo "sus" and argues officials should "just wheel the old man out."
The pair tackled the controversy on their "Pivot" podcast ... with Scott admitting he's "part of the tinfoil" crowd before doubling down and saying he believes the photo isn't authentic.
Rep. Thomas Massie says his "prison sentence" -- i.e., serving in the House of Reps -- has been commuted (he's been voted out), and he has no interested in changing prison cells by becoming a senator.
The Kentucky Congressman was upbeat Monday with Charlie, who asked him if he would consider running for Senator Mitch McConnell's seat if he resigns. Massie was pretty clear -- not interested, taking a shot at geriatric senators who belong in nursing homes.
Charlie was also interested in Massie's glow up ... a cool beard, a suitable suit, etc. Massie is quick to attribute his fresh look to the women in his life.
One small gripe -- Massie thinks just because Charlie is Australian, he's into a certain steakhouse. That's a bloomin' stereotype!
Mitch McConnell's proof of life photo was supposed to silence the internet ... instead, it poured gasoline on the fire ... and lots of folks still aren't buying it.
After weeks of wild rumors claiming the longtime Senator was brain-dead, secretly dead, or otherwise being hidden from the public ... and an image his office released Sunday meant to reassure everyone McConnell was fine instead sparked a fresh conspiracy all its own -- with countless people insisting it was either A.I.-generated, photoshopped or recycled from years ago.
Internet sleuths are pointing out all sorts of strange things going on in the image, particularly around McConnell's hand holding the Sunday sports page of the Washington Post.
Mitch McConnell has shared the first photo of himself since he was hospitalized last month ... and he says he's been receiving treatment after a fall -- not a more serious medical issue.
The senator of Kentucky released the photo alongside a press release on Sunday ... in which he's sitting in a geriatric chair -- smiling alongside Elaine Chao.
In the release, McConnell says, "Surviving childhood polio meant spending my entire life with mobility challenges. They haven’t exactly gotten easier to manage with age. And last month, I took a fall which landed me in the hospital."
While the health status of Senator Mitch McConnell remains up in the air ... life goes on at his Washington, D.C. residence ... at least when it comes to flooring.
Our intrepid TMZ DC producer Charlie Cotton paid a visit to the Senator's home Friday to see if he could get any answers on Mitch's health ... and he saw something interesting leaving the house.
No, it wasn't Mitch ... it was a guy with some carpeting samples.
Charlie spoke to the guy off camera ... and it sounds like new tiles are being considered too.
Mitch McConnell was seen being loaded on a stretcher into an ambulance after paramedics responded to his Washington, DC home following a report of an unconscious person, according to a new video.
The footage, obtained by CNN from McConnell's neighbor, shows Emergency Service workers removing the Kentucky senator from his home on the stretcher and placing him into the back of the ambulance. The officials transporting McConnell did not appear to be moving with urgency.
At the end of the video, you can see a bare foot poking out from underneath what appears to be a blanket, but you never see McConnell's face.
President Trumpisn't shedding any light on Mitch McConnell's condition ... because he says he's just as much in the dark as everyone else.
Trump was asked about the longtime Kentucky senator's health Tuesday aboard Air Force One while traveling to Joint Base Andrews ... and his response couldn't have been much shorter.
"I have no idea. I have no idea how he's doing," Trump told reporters.
Meghan McCain wants a "real update" on Senator Mitch McConnell's health ... demanding "some kind of proof of life."
The daughter of late politician John McCain took to X on Tuesday, asking McConnell's staff to share updates about the 84-year-old senator's wellbeing after he was reportedly found unconscious last month and rushed to the hospital.
Meghan says the cone of silence surrounding McConnell is "unseemly, macabre, bad for democracy and quite frankly embarrassing for the country."
Last week, a spokesperson for McConnell told TMZ ... the Senator from Kentucky was improving and was "working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session."
Mitch is not dead, we think ... but the actress certainly seems to think so if you look at her TikTok post addressing the Senator saying, "They're keeping him alive like 'Weekend at Bernie's.'"
The era of fearing politicians is clearly over ... because Rinna just couldn't stop herself from uploading the brief but brutal clap at the 84-year-old Senator.
Jacobgot Greene in NYC Tuesday, and she went scorched earth on just about everyone in D.C. ... claiming Senator McConnell was brought back from the dead in mid-June when he was found unresponsive at his home. He's been in the hospital ever since and Greene says he's a "vegetable."
Greene says shame on McConnell's family for not triggering a resignation, and she is apoplectic over his wife's decision to be in China to meet with its Vice President when the Senator was rushed to the hospital. Although Greene says Chao left her husband's bedside for her visit to China, Chao was already in China and did not rush home because of her husband's medical emergency.
Greene flat-out calls Chao, Trump's former Transportation Secretary, a Communist Spy, and calls Republicans hypocrites for not calling her out.
Marjorie Taylor Greene says hospitalized SenatorMitch McConnell is a "vegetable" ... but a well-known conservative commentator begs to differ, claiming he spoke to McConnell about major political topics.
Scott Jennings -- a contributor to CNN and the Los Angeles Times who worked in President George W. Bush's administration back in the day -- clapped back at MTG in a social media post Tuesday ... claiming they chatted for almost 20 minutes.
Jennings claims he talked to McConnell about Iran, Ukraine, a sexual assault scandal in Maine, the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library and more.
Mitch McConnell's health saga is continuing to fuel questions in Washington ... and now, one of the people closest to him has suddenly gone silent online.
Porter McConnell-- the eldest daughter of the former Senate Majority Leader -- appears to have deactivated her X account as speculation about her 84-year-old father's condition continues to swirl. The account had long been active ... with Porter frequently criticizing both her father's politics and the Republican Party.
The move comes as McConnell remains out of public view following the tight-lipped medical emergencythat landed him in the hospital last month.
Mitch McConnell's medical scare last month was way more serious than first disclosed ... the senator was reportedly found unconscious before he was rushed to the hospital.
McConnell lost consciousness at his home in Washington, D.C., on the morning of June 14 after a 911 call was made ... TMZ can confirm.
Journalist Desiree Townsend first reported on the call.
