Jimmy Fallon is skeptical of Mitch McConnell’s proof-of-life photograph from the hospital for one specific reason.
The Tonight Show host unpacked McConnell’s picture, in which the Kentucky senator is sitting on a hospital bed, dressed in jeans and a button-up shirt, holding a newspaper. Next to a smiling McConnell is his wife of over 30 years, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, who appears to be physically supporting him.
“After weeks of speculation about his health, Senator Mitch McConnell just released a photo of himself in the hospital to prove that he’s OK,” began Fallon, displaying the photograph.
“Nothing says perfect health like having someone hold you up when you’re already sitting,” Fallon said.
“Looks like a husband-and-wife ventriloquist act,” quipped the late-night host. “But Mitch said, ‘I’m feeling great, and I’ll be back at work by August 1997.’”
The photo was released almost exactly a month after he was found unconscious and required CPR at his Washington, D.C., home.
It was accompanied by a lengthy statement from McConnell explaining his condition and reassuring the public that he will be “working hard to get back on the Senate floor as soon as possible.”
“I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don’t have any tumors or hemorrhages. But I was briefly unconscious and was taken to the hospital,” he said, while also confirming that he has been suffering from a “mild case of pneumonia.”
Rumors spread about just how serious McConnell’s condition was after it was originally reported that he had suffered a cardiac arrest last month.
The speculation became even more rife as McConnell’s team spent weeks refusing to provide any meaningful update on his condition, his treatment, or whether the 84-year-old would be able to return to office.
McConnell’s team, led by his longtime, camera-shy aide Terry Carmack, who is on track to earn more than $226,000 this year, also repeatedly issued the same statement whenever asked for an update, merely saying the senator “appreciates the outpouring of support” while he continues treatment.
The photograph has not squashed speculation about the senator. In fact, its release has spurred more questions, including from Republicans such as Senator Ron Johnson, who claimed it was “an older photo.” Meanwhile, MAGA social media figures have mocked the picture, making memes and questioning its authenticity.
Like Fallon, late-night host Jon Stewart addressed the image, joking on Monday, “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you totally believable evidence that Mitch McConnell is not only alive, but the happiest boy in the hospital.”
The Daily Show host, displaying the picture, continued, “That’s the smile of a Make-A-Wish kid whose wish was that everyone else in the hospital lost their health insurance due to his f---ing policies.”
