A new video appears to show Mitch McConnell getting taken away in an ambulance after he was found unconscious at his home last month.
The clip, obtained and verified by CNN, shows emergency responders lifting what appears to be the 84-year-old senator into the back of the ambulance on a stretcher on the morning of June 14.
Another ambulance, a fire truck, and Capitol Police officers were also on the scene, a neighbor told the network, explaining that the whole street was blocked.
The neighbor told CNN that they asked officers what was going on, but they only replied there had been a “medical emergency.” The neighbor also noted that emergency responders did not seem in too much of a rush to place McConnell in the back of the ambulance.
“In a situation where perhaps time is of the essence, there seems to be a little bit more urgency, but there was no urgency here.”
McConnell has been in the hospital for weeks after he was found unconscious at his Washington, D.C., home and required CPR. The Kentucky senator’s team has been criticized for failing to provide any meaningful update on his condition, his treatment, or whether the 84-year-old will be able to return to office.
The video is filmed from a distance, so McConnell’s face is not visible. Another witness who saw emergency responders putting McConnell into the ambulance noted that he was not wearing an oxygen mask.
A neighbor told CNN they saw the stretcher being carried out of McConnell’s home about 30 minutes after they first noticed ambulances on the street.
“He’s in a stretcher, and he’s in some sort like orange foam looking blanket type thing,” the neighbor said, adding they managed to see the 84-year-old’s feet but they were “not moving.”
“One of my neighbors is like, ‘Oh yeah, it’s Mitch, I saw his face,’” they added.
The ambulance also did not turn on its sirens as it drove away with McConnell inside, according to the neighbor.
McConnell’s staff announced June 14 that the Republican had been admitted to the hospital, but gave no real details about why or how serious his condition was.
Independent journalist Desirée Townsend later obtained EMS dispatch audio from when McConnell was found unconscious at his home after apparently suffering a cardiac arrest.
Since then, McConnell’s team, led by his longtime, camera-shy aide Terry Carmack, who is on track to earn more than $226,000 this year, repeatedly issued the same statement when asked for an update on his condition, merely saying he “appreciates the outpouring of support” while he continues treatment.
Speculation about McConnell’s health has become so rampant that several MAGA and Republican figures have demanded that so-called “proof of life” be released to help quell rumors.
The mystery took another twist when MAGA political commentator Scott Jennings claimed on Tuesday that he had spoken with McConnell for “just shy of 20 minutes” and discussed topics such as Iran and Ukraine.
“I can just tell you that I saw some people postulating that he was deceased or not capable of having a conversation, and that certainly wasn’t my experience,” Jennings later told CNN’s Laura Coates Live.
Similar statements were also issued this week by Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso, who both claimed they had spoken with McConnell about current news events.
On Wednesday, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear wrote to McConnell, demanding that he provide constituents with a proper update on his health as rumors continue to swirl.
Beshear said that Kentuckians had grown “increasingly concerned” about whether the 84-year-old still has the “ability to hold office” following his latest serious health issue.
“As public officeholders, we have made a commitment to our constituents to do our best to represent them and to always be transparent,” Beshear wrote. “I believe this requires clear communication about one’s ability to serve.”
The Daily Beast has contacted Mitch McConnell’s team for comment.
