Scott Jennings Calls Out Critics Who Doubted He Talked With Mitch McConnell After Mysterious Hospitalization — As 84-Year-Old Makes Surprise Return to Capitol Hill
Scott Jennings spoke with Mitch McConnell while he was MIA after a health scare.
Sept. 21 2026, Published 5:45 p.m. ET
Scott Jennings fiercely defended his claims that he spoke with Mitch McConnell in a private phone call while the Kentucky senator was hospitalized, RadarOnline has learned.
The CNN political commentator faced repeated questions about the alleged 15 to 20 minute chat as rumors swirled that McConnell might have been in a coma, or even that he had secretly passed away.
Scott Jennings Calls Rumors 'Elaborate' Conspiracy Theories
Scott Jennings denied he was involved in a 'cover-up' of Mitch McConnell's health.
“Some people convinced themselves McConnell was dead," Jennings said on a September 15 episode of his The Scott Jennings Show on Salem News Network. "Others imagined an elaborate conspiracy involving his family, doctors, staff, and apparently me to fool the country."
"Now think about that logically for a moment," he continued. "If you were planning an enormous political cover-up, would you really make Scott Jennings the public face of the operation?”
Scott Jennings Sounds Off on CNN
Mitchell McConnell was rushed to the hospital in June after suffering a fall.
Caroline Sunshine, a former Disney Channel actress and ex-Trump White House spokesperson, challenged Jennings in August during an episode of CNN’s NewsNight with Abby Phillip.
They discussed the Iran war and conflicting assessments about Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
Jennings asked Sunshine, “Do you not believe the president’s son-in-law and his envoy?” referring to Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.
Sunshine then shifted the conversation to Jennings’ previous claims that he had spoken with McConnell.
“I don’t believe you had a phone call with Mitch McConnell, I’ll tell you that,” Sunshine said. “I don’t believe you had a 20-minute phone call with Mitch McConnell, and I don’t think a lot of people do, either.”
Jennings pushed back, accusing Sunshine of sounding like “a garden-variety conspiracy theorist,” according to CNN’s transcript, per The Daily Beast.
Mitch McConnell Returns to the Senate
Jennings has maintained that he spoke with McConnell by phone for nearly 20 minutes.
McConnell returned to the Senate floor in a wheelchair on September 14, casting his first vote since June.
He said he was still recovering and “not quite back to 100%,” while noting that he was continuing physical therapy on the advice of his doctors, according to ABC News.
As Radar previously reported, McConnell had also experienced episodes of freezing up on camera before over the past few years, which sparked speculation about his health. Much of his condition remained private during his hospitalization and recovery.
'I Told You So!'
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Jennings claimed the rumors of McConnell's death were conspiracies.
Jennings has maintained that he spoke with McConnell by phone for nearly 20 minutes while he was hospitalized and later visited him in the hospital and at his home.
He pushed back against critics who questioned whether those conversations took place, saying the senator’s return to the Senate vindicated his earlier accounts.
“The conspiracy theorists won’t apologize, of course. The websites won’t retract their sneering headlines," he noted. "The people who accuse me of fabricating conversations should delete their posts before moving along to tomorrow’s hoaxes. But I won’t hold my breath. I did, however, save the receipts. So allow your humble reporter this brief moment of mature and dignified reflection. I told you so!"
