CNN’s Scott Jennings is feeling vindicated after Sen. Mitch McConnell shared a lengthy statement about his health, along with a new photograph where the 84-year-old was sitting up in bed.
Jennings, the network’s conservative commentator, was one of the lone voices claiming that he had spoken with McConnell amid unfounded speculation that the Kentucky senator’s health was deteriorating, rejecting claims from conspiracy theorists that he was “a vegetable.”
McConnell updated his constituents Sunday night, confirming that he was hospitalized after a fall in June and later went on to develop a mild case of pneumonia. Some on social media have jokingly referred to the posts as “proof of life.” The Kentucky Senator added that his recovery would “take time,” but he hoped to be back on the Senate floor as soon as possible.
Jennings appeared to revel in the news.
“The thing about being honest is that you never have to worry about a darn thing,” he said in a post on X, sharing a clip from one of his appearances on CNN last week where he said he “counseled” McConnell to share an update about his health.
Jennings also shared a memorable GIF from The Office where Steve Carell’s Michael Scott says, “Well, well, well, how the turntables…”
CNN distanced itself from the commentator’s remarks last week, drawing a distinction between Jennings’ comments and the network’s reporting.
“As a CNN Political Commentator, Scott Jennings is not a full-time employee or journalist for the network,” a CNN spokesperson said at the time. “His account of a personal conversation with Senator McConnell reflects his experience and is not CNN reporting.”
McConnell, who was first elected to the Senate in 1984 and is set to retire at the end of his current term, was admitted to the hospital June 14. Until Sunday, his staff offered little detail about his condition.
His office shared a photo of McConnell sitting upright in bed beside his wife, former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, with a smile. A copy of Sunday’s Washington Post was visible at the bottom of the photograph.
“My doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion,” McConnell said in the statement. “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.”
“As much as it frustrates me, this process takes time. And on the advice of my doctors, I won’t be able to return to the Senate floor to vote quite yet. But rest assured that, in the meantime, I’m not taking a break from the Senate business that matters to you,” McConnell said.
