Frozen copy retrieved 2026-07-15T08:35:00Z for audit 2026-07-15T08-40-50Z. Original URL: https://www.al.com/politics/2026/07/gop-senator-walks-back-doubting-mitch-mcconnell-proof-of-life-photo-is-current-it-was-a-rumor.html. The Stochastic Parrot does not host or redistribute; this snapshot exists solely so that quoted spans remain verifiable if the original page changes. Character offsets below index into this plain text; highlighted spans are the quotes cited in the audit.

GOP senator walks back doubting Mitch McConnell proof of life photo is current: 'It was a rumor'

al.com · back to the audit
Wisconsin's Republican senator is changing his tune a day after he said he was told the proof of life picture of Mitch McConnell was not current.

On Monday, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., said he was told the picture of McConnell and the Kentucky senator's wife, Elaine Chao, "was an older photo."

But just hours later, and again on Tuesday, Johnson walked back his suggestion that the McConnell photo was not current.

"The TV host was saying it was AI, and I just said I had heard that maybe it wasn't the most recent photo," Johnson said during a Tuesday morning NewsNation appearance.

"I have no idea" if the proof of life photo is current, Johnson continued, "Just discount all that. From my standpoint, I wish Leader McConnell well. I hope he recovers. I hope he returns the Senate and can help support President Trump's agenda."

During a Real America's Voice appearance on Monday, Johnson told Eric Bolling he received information that the hospital photo was not current. "I just heard from some other source that was an older photo. So I really don't know. I haven't talked to Mitch. I certainly wish he and his family well. I hope he can recover. Listen, it's sad to watch people age, no matter who that person is," Johnson said.

But a short while later, the Wisconsin senator told reporters about the photo, "It was a rumor. Just discount it... I have no idea. I just, I heard that. I just heard it. So just assume it's false," Johnson said, according to NOTUS reporter Igor Bobic.

In his Sunday statement, McConnell wrote: "My doctors have confirmed that I didn't break any bones or suffer a concussion. 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. While receiving excellent care over the past several weeks, I've also had to deal with a mild case of pneumonia." He added that he had moved "from hospital care to a rehabilitation center" and would retire at the end of his term in January.