After weeks of uncertainty about the health of Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, voters in his state say they want him to get out of the way.
In a segment aired on MSNOW, voters on the street vented frustration with the ongoing health crisis surrounding the 84-year-old Republican.
“People that deserve to have power usually don’t want it, and people that have power are tough to give it up,” one voter said.
“Your retirement is long overdue. Give up this fight. Give up. You’re not representing us well so don’t represent us at all,” another woman said.
Another man said he’d like to see someone “in the middle” between old and young, but he didn’t expect that to happen.
“We got old people trying to stay in their place, in their power, and designing who gets their seat after them,” he said, sounding defeated.
The reporter revealed that he’s spoken to dozens of voters in the past two days, and every single one wanted to see term limits or age limits imposed on Congress.
The calls to oust McConnell come as Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear renewed his demands on Saturday for McConnell and his team to come clean about his health.
“I publicly and privately urged the last administration to address the public’s concerns with the former president’s health. I’m calling on Sen. McConnell to do the same and provide voters an update on his own health,” Beshear wrote on X.
“Let’s end the crazy speculation. Just tell us what’s going on,” he begged.
McConnell was rushed to a hospital on June 14, but his staff were quick to downplay the incident.
“Senator McConnell is fully engaged with staff on Senate business and Kentucky matters and is very appreciative of the outstanding care he is receiving,” his spokeswoman Stephanie Penn said at the time.
Weeks later, after avoiding questions on the senator’s health, his aides revealed he was still in the hospital.
On July 1 it was revealed that McConnell may have suffered a heart attack, according to an emergency dispatch call first obtained by independent journalist Desirée Townsend.
He was reportedly found unconscious and emergency responders performed CPR before he was rushed to the hospital.
The senator’s condition has become the focus of intense scrutiny as the rules for filling his Senate seat were updated in 2024. Now, if a Senate seat becomes vacant the state must hold a special election to fill it. The exception is if it is less than 56 days from a planned election, in which case the seat would remain vacant until the planned election.
McConnell’s seat is up for re-election in November and he was already retiring. His vacating the seat would trigger a special election up until Sept. 8, after which the 56 day rule would kick in.
Trump pick Andy Barr won the Republican primary to replace McConnell in May.
Beshear first called for transparency over McConnell on Wednesday, sending a letter to McConnell’s staff.
“Allowing speculation to continue in the media is not fair to the Senator or to Kentuckians, and my hope is that this provides him the opportunity to share the information in a transparent manner, direct from the source,” he wrote.
Conspiracies around the senator’s health have been swirling since right-wing provocateur Laura Loomer claimed he was “brain dead,” rallying MAGA supporters to demand answers.
Senators and operatives close to McConnell came out earlier in the week to say they had spoken with him, but the calls described appeared to some to be uncannily similar, stoking further speculation.
The Daily Beast reached out to the senator’s office and the White House for an update. They did not immediately respond.
