McConnell Returns After 92 Days, Drawing MAGA Backlash Over Frail Capitol Appearance
Updated
Updated · The Daily Beast · Sep 15
McConnell Returns After 92 Days, Drawing MAGA Backlash Over Frail Capitol Appearance
3 articles · Updated · The Daily Beast · Sep 15
Summary
McConnell cast his first Senate vote in more than three months on Monday, returning at 84 after a 92-day absence but appearing so frail that even some conservatives publicly questioned his fitness for office.
Viral clips of the Kentucky Republican being wheeled into the Capitol and sitting silently in a car fueled the backlash, while reporters said his speech seemed slower and photos showed a large bruise on his left hand.
MAGA influencers including Gunther Eagleman and Eric Matheny used the return to renew calls for age limits and term limits, reviving long-running hostility toward McConnell inside Trump-aligned circles.
Prediction markets still show little expectation that he will quit before November's midterms, pricing the odds at 8% on Polymarket and 3.9% on Kalshi.
McConnell, who is not seeking re-election and leaves office in January, had been out since June after a fall, hospitalization and rehabilitation complicated by childhood polio.