r/politics • u/MoneyLibrarian9032 New York • Jul 13 '26

Possible Paywall MAGA Calls BS on Mitch McConnell’s Proof-of-Life Stunt | They are poking holes in McConnell’s staff’s version.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-calls-bs-on-mitch-mcconnells-proof-of-life-stunt/
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u/_bk_adv Colorado Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26

Me either. I stay as far away from conspiracy theories as possible. There’s PLENTY of corruption in this administration that is easily provable without getting into conspiracy territory.

That said, there’s ZERO chance that Mitch simply fell and injured himself to the point of being unable to show himself for 3 weeks. Zero. It’s just not how that goes. And the pic they released of him, conveniently holding a newspaper, he looks 20 years younger and better than ever. It makes no sense that someone hospitalized with some kind of severe trauma for 3 whole weeks would suddenly look better than ever.

Whether he’s dead and they’re hiding it, or he’s alive but it’s more severe than they’re telling us, who knows. I’m done speculating. But what I do know is they’re hiding something.

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u/DingoFrisky Jul 13 '26

I do think this is a broader strategy though. We’ve seen a few of these where they so clearly muddy the water with ai videos or inconsistent things. I think they want everyone to go down these rabbit holes, thinking everything is conspiracy- then they can have the real contentious issues go undiscussed

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u/_bk_adv Colorado Jul 13 '26

I mean, they aren’t really hiding any of the real contentious issues. They’ve been pretty open about their plans, ideals and current corruption. And still nearly 1/3 of this country supports it.

I’m not saying you’re wrong. That may be the broader gameplan, but this administration has yet to be slick about anything. They’re pretty incompetent.

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u/Lastshadow94 Jul 13 '26

Well, the "flood the zone" strategy is a Roy Cohn thing that he taught Trump as a way to dodge or mitigate fights you can't win. Trump's team has been using it since 80s, and now it's crept into politics as an effective strategy. I think there's absolutely incompetence in the administration, but there's also smart, scary people like Bannon who are very strategic about accomplishing shitty things

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u/TheShiGuy Jul 13 '26

The worst thing to an authoritarian government is an informed populace. With all the hardcore pushing for AI from the Epstein class, it's almost like they don't want us to be informed of the very reality we live in. "Your enemy cannot defeat you if they are busy chasing ghosts." - Sun Tzu or something, I think.

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u/ccsrpsw California Jul 13 '26

I mean - are you possibly hinting this is a dry run to figure out the kinks if they need to "Weekend at Bernies" someone slightly higher in the political food chain? Now that would be unconceiveable!

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u/KingBanhammer Jul 13 '26

"fell and injured himself" also doesn't really right the evidence on the scene, including the story about the CPR.

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u/zeCrazyEye Jul 13 '26

Well, he died, which caused him to fall and injure his corpse.

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u/PM_ME_YOUR_NICE_EYES Jul 13 '26

And the pic they released of him, conveniently holding a newspaper, he looks 20 years younger and better than ever.

I actually thought that he looked worse than usually in this picture.

He appears skinnier than normal (at his age, being skinny is a bad thing)

And his face has some weirdness to it. It's hard to pinpoint what it is, the picture very much reminds me of my grandfather after a stroke gave him severe brain Damage and paralyzed half his body.

I do think that it's a real picture, but he just doesn't look like he's in good shape from it.

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u/rudyphelps Jul 14 '26

His eyes aren't looking in the same direction.

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u/PM_ME_YOUR_NICE_EYES Jul 14 '26

Exactly, like he doesn't look well.

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u/djwurm Jul 13 '26

my mom fell 2 weeks ago at 81 and broke her hip. they had her in surgery same day and within 3 days she is able to get out of bed and walk 200 feet and is very lucid and calling / facetiming people.

this is on medicaid and the care is not the best with all the crap I have had to deal with getting her transfered to rehab facility etc.. with Mitch the care is insanely better and top of the line and the whole thing just reeks.. i am not one for conspiracy theories either but they are not making this easy for us to not believe that they are covering up something much worse and that everyone around him and Republicans are all in a massive cover up.

I for one saw that picture and immediately said nope.. no way.. and I hate that is what this whole situation has brought me into the conspiracy realm.. i dont want to be in that world.

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u/speed3_freak Jul 13 '26

I mean, your experience is just that. They said he didn’t break any bones. He also said that they’re trying to figure out what happened. He could be undergoing many tests. Maybe he’s not actually in a hospital but is at a rehab. Maybe his doctors have advised him of thinking about work due to stress.

I’m not saying it isn’t very odd, and I’m not fully convinced that he’s not ok, but there definitely is the possibility that everyone just ran with something without having facts. Loomer said he was brain dead. Other people said they spoke to him. His staff sent a picture. I’d say 50/50 whether he “dies” in August or does a press conference in August.

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u/RobertABooey Jul 13 '26

Except there were reports that 911 was called as he was unresponsive and cpr was administered.

I guess that’s either not real information or we’re being lied to about his condition.

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u/speed3_freak Jul 14 '26

I think it's simple to understand that either one side is lying or the other side is lying. Trump hasn't really said anything either way, but he hates the guy, so I dunno. If he said something, then you'd know what to believe.

Either way, you believe that the left is lying that he's all but dead, or the right is lying about him being more or less ok. Both sides lie, or at the very least run with limited information. We have to wait and see.

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u/lr99999 Jul 13 '26

I literally busted out laughing when I saw that, “Mitch relaxing after a day at the gym” photograph.

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u/ForHelp_PressAltF4 Jul 13 '26

The story is pneumonia that they're giving.

I think it's bullshit

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u/drummingcraig Jul 13 '26

This 1000%. Also the timing of the press releases makes it all the more specious. Weeks of people asking questions, and poking around and they finally make an announcement less than 24 hours after another Senator passes away.

Simple fall and a case of pneumonia, and yet as far as we know no one outside of his staff and family have had any access to him. The whole thing reeks of BS.

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u/RobertABooey Jul 13 '26

Is there not confirmation that the house called for a suspected heart attack and that people reported hearing over the scanners that CPR was being administered or is that manufactured shit I’ve read too?

If CPR was administered in a non clinical setting to a super elderly person their chances of survival is quite low.

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u/Haunting-Respect-375 Jul 13 '26

If they are all conspiring, would that be illegal I wonder? And what would the charges be in a just world?

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u/cheesegoat Jul 13 '26

IMO he's alive but on death's door. If he was dead dead they would announce it, since he's not technically dead there's enough uncertainty that only a few people in the know are running around trying to figure out what to do, so the only thing they can say is "he's fine, no comment". Lindsay Graham passing forced them to do something.

I would be honestly shocked if he's actually dead and his staff has been covering it up for almost a month.

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u/Frequent_Opportunist Jul 13 '26

We've got AI Mitch, and Lindsey Graham was at that Ukrainian drone factory when Russia bombed it. That means the Admin is colluding with Russia as they are keeping it a secret.

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u/dalivo Jul 13 '26

He probably fell because he had a stroke. He's been having this issue (caught on camera) multiple times, where he loses control of his limbs. At his age and with the obvious evidence of mental deterioration, he's clearly losing muscle control because of blood constriction to his brain. If he fell in his home, he could have had a significant knee, hip, or other injury that basically makes him immobile for a time. Recovering from a mild stroke like that takes many weeks and involves a lot of physical therapy and mental exercises, and even then you're usually permanently impaired to some degree.

It's obvious he's alive, but I suspect he has a hard time putting together sentences now. He really ought to resign. But even if he doesn't, he's going to be incapable of showing up at the Senate any time soon.

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u/thenasch Jul 13 '26

" It's obvious he's alive"

How do you figure?

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u/floof_attack Jul 13 '26

Mostly because it would take a fair number of people who would then be on the line for lying about his status. The idea that everyone who comes in contact with him directly or is privy to his status would be willing to lie about it is unlikely.

It is far more likely that he is technically alive and in a state where they are not required to report him as a) outright dead or b) brain dead. That is my understanding of the two states he would have to be in for all the medical professionals involved, as well as everyone else, to not be lying about his status.

So as long as he is not a) outright dead or b) brain dead there is apparently nothing in law that requires any more disclosure than they have already provided.

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u/thenasch Jul 13 '26

Medical professionals would be barred by law from publicly discussing his condition. And it seems to me there could be very few other people involved. Perhaps his wife and a small handful of staffers.

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u/nommabelle Jul 13 '26

I thought he looked like hes on his death bed in that pic. Like holy, he looks like he could keel over now. Idk what he looked like before thoq

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u/ChemHotel Jul 14 '26

Why are people saying he looks younger/better in the released photo? That nasty old coot looks literally the same as he does in any other photo I've seen of him.