Mitch McConnell’s wife has stepped out of a rehabilitation center, where the senator is recovering, in a trenchcoat and a mask, sparking a new round of conspiracies.
Rumors about the Kentucky Republican’s health have continued to swirl during his month-long public absence. The 84-year-old broke his silence in a press release Sunday night, explaining that he landed in the hospital after a fall.
Alongside McConnell’s statement was a photo of him and his wife, Elaine Chao, in the hospital. Despite their efforts, the senator’s press team did little to quell baseless rumors that McConnell had actually died and that they were covering it up.
Some claimed the photo was fake, pointing to the Washington Post’s Sunday sports section that McConnell was holding in the photo. But the publication verified that the photo was not AI-generated.
Now, social media is picking apart a new photo — one of Chao leaving the rehab center that McConnell has been moved to, wearing a long navy blue trench coat, a surgical mask and sunglasses.
Chao was seen walking with her head down and her hands behind her back in a photo from celebrity news agency Backgrid shared by TMZ and the Daily Beast.
The photo set off a new round of speculation, with right-wing conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer writing on X, “This is more evidence that McConnell’s health is so poor they are making people around him mask up.
“Why wasn’t she wearing a mask in the photo McConnell’s staff released the other day? Just more evidence it was an AI photo or an older photo.”
Despite a rumor that the photo of McConnell and Chao at the hospital was taken several years ago, the Post found that its metadata shows it was snapped on Sunday.
Last week, Loomer said a “high-level source close to the White House” told her McConnell was “brain dead.”
One X user pointed out the peculiarity of Chao wearing heavy clothing, given the summer heat: “The heat index in Washington today is 106. So, why is Elaine Chao wearing a trench coat?”
“Elaine Chao left Mitch's rehab facility in a trench coat, mask, and dark sunglasses, apparently unaware that this is the exact outfit you wear when you want everyone to talk about you,” another person wrote.
“Mitch McConnell's wife Elaine Chao spotted leaving his rehab center in full blown mask. We need confirmation Mitch is still with us,” a third commented.
The Independent has reached out to McConnell’s office for comment.
Chao —who has had her own political career serving as former President George W. Bush’s labor secretary and President Donald Trump’s transportation secretary during his first term — married McConnell in 1993.
She was scrutinized for continuing her trip to China despite her husband’s hospitalization. Chao returned to the U.S. last week, with a spokesperson explaining her “long-planned” visit.
"The secretary was on a long-planned trip in China to support her family's philanthropic endeavors," Chao’s spokesperson told The Courier Journal. "During the trip, she met with a number of people, including the U.S. ambassador. The senator's health did not warrant an immediate return to the U.S."
McConnell, who survived childhood polio, has suffered from several falls and public episodes of freezing up in recent years. He will retire next year after serving more than 40 years in the Senate.
The senator explained in Sunday’s update that he went unconscious after the fall, prompting the hospital visit. He also said he suffered from a mild case of pneumonia, but he is showing signs of “continued progress.”
“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,” he said.
McConnell has not appeared in public since June 14.
