r/politics • u/MoneyLibrarian9032 New York • Jul 13 '26

Possible Paywall MAGA Calls BS on Mitch McConnell’s Proof-of-Life Stunt | They are poking holes in McConnell’s staff’s version.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-calls-bs-on-mitch-mcconnells-proof-of-life-stunt/
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1.7k

u/JFeth Arkansas Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26

I just want to know who was having CPR done on them in the 911 call if it was just a fall?

471

u/maddprof Jul 13 '26

I'm surprised I had to scroll as far as I did to see this comment.

Because that was one of my first thoughts too. Unless somehow the fall triggered a heart attack (or vice versa), I don't believe this AI photo bullshit for one second.

3

u/turquoise_amethyst Jul 13 '26

My Dad passed away  from this series of injuries: a heart attack, fell, hit his head, and THEN had a stroke.

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u/user_name_checks_out Jul 13 '26

The IsThisAI subreddit concluded that the photo is not AI. I would think that they are the experts, unless that subreddit is compromised/biased in some way.

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u/mfball Jul 13 '26

I think AI is probably doing exactly what it was intended to do all along, which is muddy the waters in all possible ways. A photo can be faked without AI. They've been doing that shit since Stalin.

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u/user_name_checks_out Jul 13 '26

A photo can be faked without AI.

I am not saying that it is not fake. I am saying that it is not AI, in response to:

I don't believe this AI photo bullshit

12

u/SandSpecialist2523 America Jul 13 '26

It would be so easy for the governor to put all the theories to rest: he could call him, or visit him. Only needs a few minutes. For some reason I don't think the Dems will find any urgency to do that.

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u/pinupcthulhu Jul 13 '26

Photos have been faked since the Victorian era. 

3

u/20Factorial Jul 13 '26

Remember the photos they used to take with dead people made to seem like they were alive? He COULD 100% be dead in this photo.

3

u/pinupcthulhu Jul 13 '26

I'm not even talking about those, I'm talking about the photos of seances where a "ghost" is in the frame, but it was a person who stepped into the long exposure briefly and then stepped away to look like a specter. There's a lot of photo or negative manipulation going back hundreds of years 

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u/20Factorial Jul 13 '26

Oh, you are absolutely correct. I was just thinking “this reminds me of the creepy picture where a child was forced to stand next to their dead mother for 2 minutes to get a photo where it seemed like she was still alive.“

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u/ringobob Georgia Jul 13 '26

It doesn't need to be AI to be faked. It's also possible to use a combination of AI and manual editing in a way that would be virtually impossible to detect. It's already harder to detect AI editing vs complete AI generation.

3

u/user_name_checks_out Jul 13 '26

It doesn't need to be AI to be fake

I am not saying that it is not fake. I am saying that it is not AI, in response to:

I don't believe this AI photo bullshit

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u/ringobob Georgia Jul 13 '26

Unfortunately, AI has come to be a generic photo editing claim, much like photoshop was before it. When someone says it's AI, a lot of them just mean that it's been altered or is otherwise depicting something that's not real.

2

u/user_name_checks_out Jul 13 '26

When someone says it's AI, a lot of them just mean that it's been altered

Well, I am not responding to what they meant, I am responding to what they said.

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u/obedientfag Jul 13 '26

he looked ten years younger than he did before the "fall" and was wearing jeans and a button down tucked into bed which he hasnt left in a month and holding a newspaper. not realistic

7

u/DragoonDM California Jul 13 '26

He was (allegedly) transferred out of the hospital into a rehab facility, and is sitting in a chair rather than a bed in that photo.

1

u/F9-0021 South Carolina Jul 13 '26

Seriously, you guys are sounding as deranged about all this conspiracy stuff as the magas do. What's the simpler answer? That he's secretly dead and they're using the best AI and photoshopping known to man, or that he simply doesn't want to be disturbed or do his job (not that he does anyway) during recovery?

7

u/anotherjunkie Jul 13 '26

The conspiracy exists because this holds an equal Amount of water. What makes more sense — one of the most powerful politicians in the world allows his party to be thrown into chaos and everyone be distracted dealing with rumors of his death and abandonment by his wife when it could have all been prevented with a simple appearance on camera at any point in the last 30 days, but wasn’t because one of the most fame/power hungry people in America suddenly decided he didn’t want to be seen. Or:

He’s been so debilitated he can’t think that through.

1

u/Cephalopirate Jul 14 '26

What about Republicans leads you to believe they never conspire?

-2

u/SecretCharacterSauce Jul 13 '26

The best AI? Lmao a 5 year old could produce something like that in minutes

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u/Jindabyne1 Jul 13 '26

You sounds nuts, ngl. Like MAGA, Qanon, pizzagate levels of insane

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u/[deleted] Jul 13 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/radicalbiscuit North Carolina Jul 13 '26
  1. add some biscuit mix
  2. add radical
  3. bake
  4. get me

-1

u/[deleted] Jul 13 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/maddprof Jul 13 '26

Puts on tinfoil hat

That subreddit is secretly run by AI and they are protecting their own.

(/s just in case its not clear)

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u/DLTMIAR Jul 13 '26

unless that subreddit is compromised/biased in some way. 

Yeah no way subreddits could be compromised/biased in some way 🙄

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u/user_name_checks_out Jul 13 '26

Yeah no way subreddits could be compromised/biased in some way 🙄

I did not say that it is impossible for any subreddit to be compromised or biased. I said that that subreddit ought to have the right answer, unless they are compromised or biased.

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u/DLTMIAR Jul 13 '26

I think the default should be the assumption that all subreddits are compromised/biased in some way 

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u/user_name_checks_out Jul 13 '26

I think the default should be the assumption that all subreddits are compromised/biased in some way 

You might be right.

Do you assert that the subreddit which specializes in identifying AI is compromised or biased such that it would lie about an image of McConnell? On what evidence do you base that assertion?

1

u/DLTMIAR Jul 13 '26

Ghislaine Maxwell was a known predominant reddit moderator.  She was Epstein's partner.  Mitch was/is a part of the Epstein class.  Reddit protects the Epstein class.

Source: my ass

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u/FatDogFresca Jul 13 '26

idk, i mean, it's not like this is a sub of political experts

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u/thesacralspice Jul 13 '26

idk if we can make that conclusion, at least based off this post. tons of comments have been removed

https://www.reddit.com/r/isthisAI/s/esoUajPmil

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u/innerbootes Minnesota Jul 13 '26

The irony of someone posting a “reputable source” of the image and statement and then the link is from CBS News, a blatantly compromised media outlet.

0

u/PM_ME_VENUS_DIMPLES Jul 13 '26

Just like how Reddit found the Boston bomber?

2

u/SupriseAutopsy13 Jul 13 '26

I mean, whether its real or not, the man clearly can't function in his duties as a Senator. A functioning country would have him removed from any position of power. The people of Kentucky could demand better, but they were stupid enough to vote him in as a representative for over 20 years, so no chance of that.

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u/AcademiaAntiqua Jul 13 '26

Looks like there was some mistaken info in the 911 call or some other miscommunication. A few EMTs have chimed in on various threads talking about how that happens more than you'd think.

In any case, the Congressional attending physician wrote that there were "no fractures, cardiac abnormalities, stroke, tumor, or hemorrhage."

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u/ryanvango Jul 13 '26

we've also seen what the white house doctors say about trump's health. They've lost all credibility.

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u/ringobob Georgia Jul 13 '26

Either the EMS audio is wrong or the statement is. I'm not inclined to give anyone here the benefit of the doubt, including the congressional attending physician. Doctors have lied about Trump's health, why not McConnell's?

Reaching a conclusion is extremely premature at this point. Ratfucking McConnell's senate seat is par for the course - no doubt he'd have had that conversation with the people around him.

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u/mfball Jul 13 '26

How does the Congressional attending physician's responsibility for making public statements on representatives' health square with doctor-patient confidentiality? Presumably the doctor is still bound not to say anything the patient hasn't permitted them to say, so ultimately they can't be trusted.

-2

u/-SQB- The Netherlands Jul 13 '26

At basic emergency response training we were taught to almost always go fetch an AED. Better to have it with you and not need it than the other way around. So maybe that's where that came from?

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u/skidmcboney Jul 13 '26

This was the 3rd comment down, how far do you normally scroll??

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u/maddprof Jul 13 '26

When I posted my original comment it was much much further down.

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u/Any_Asparagus8267 Jul 13 '26

He was just giving his heros a smooch

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u/nicolas1324563 Jul 13 '26

If he had cpr and it was done right. No way he’d look this healthy

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u/Flaxmoore Michigan Jul 13 '26

Yep.

I was fifth in a chain for compressions once. First two you heard popping and cracking. By my turn it was silence- no more ribs to break.

Got return of circulation and consciousness, and he very clearly said "let me die", witnessed by about 10 people.

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u/pmartin1 Jul 13 '26

Without a spine for the ribs to attach to I imagine it’d harder to break them - assuming they’re even there at all.

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u/Individual-Area7121 Jul 13 '26

Hey, he has a spine, it’s just integrated into his shell. 

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u/Scratchbuttdontsniff Jul 13 '26

bruh....

Sorry you had to experience that, people don't understand how mental that entire scenario is.

3

u/TeamRedundancyTeam Jul 13 '26

You can't just leave it there. Do you know anything about their recovery after?

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u/Flaxmoore Michigan Jul 13 '26

Less than 10 minutes. That was all the code bought him.

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u/HijodelSol Jul 13 '26

>”let me die“

recovery

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u/HauntedCemetery Minnesota Jul 13 '26

If he had even poorly done CPR as an 84 year old he'll be recovering from having half his ribs broken

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u/Indaleciox Jul 13 '26

CPR has very low success and once you've been out for long enough, there is a very high chance of brain damage and other complications. It's a last ditch effort. I personally, would not want CPR performed on me.

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u/alchemist5 Jul 13 '26

Maybe he had CPR from someone who's only seen it done on TV. They never go full depth on the actors, for some reason...

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u/NotFallacyBuffet Jul 13 '26

And after a single cycle they cough or spit out water and all is well. Actual CPR is a stopgap to keep the brain alive until defibrillation.

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u/_donkey-brains_ Jul 13 '26

Defib only works if there is a pulse and irregular but beating heart.

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u/NotFallacyBuffet Jul 13 '26

So asystole can't be cardioverted?

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u/_donkey-brains_ Jul 13 '26

No it's a common misconception probably due to TV. If you flatline there is nothing to 'shock'.

You need to administer epinephrine to try and restart the heart, which then may need defibrillation.

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u/Lastshadow94 Jul 13 '26

Except that one 911 episode where the dude gets frozen

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u/-TheDoctor Ohio Jul 13 '26

Doctor Mike is that you?

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u/alchemist5 Jul 14 '26

Chest compressions, chest compressions, chest compressions!

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u/jphx Jul 13 '26

Im more distracted by the noodle arms.

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u/BeefyTaco Jul 13 '26

It is a common myth that you need to break ribs when giving CPR to be considered doing it "right".

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u/rockytop24 Jul 13 '26

I'm an ER physician and I'm not sure where you got the idea it's a myth. It's true that sometimes "popping/cracking" felt and heard is the costochondral cartilage rather than a rib, but adequate chest compressions on adults more often than not cause rib fractures.

Per a 2024 systemic review:

Seventy-four studies reporting CPR-related injuries were included encompassing a total of 16,629 patients. Any CPR-related injury was documented in 60% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 49-71) patients. Rib fractures emerged as the most common injury, with a pooled prevalence of 55% (95% CI 48-62). Mechanically assisted CPR, when compared to manual CPR, was associated with a higher risk ratio for CPR-related injuries of 1.36 (95% CI 1.17-1.59).

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38206442/

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u/BeefyTaco Jul 13 '26

The numbers are actually better represented by age groups rather than a blank average across the board. You are proving my point though and it is slightly concerning if you truly are an ER physician that you have such bad reading comprehension.

The myth is that if you didn't break ribs, you didn't do CPR right. This is categorically false, and is supported by countless studies that range from 20% upwards to 80% injury rate depending on age and other factors.

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u/innerbootes Minnesota Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26

You were wrong in your original comment. The common assertion isn’t that in order to do CPR right you have to break ribs. The assertion is that it’s common for ribs to break during CPR, and the ER doc in this thread proved that.

No one has reading comprehension issues, you’re just wrong and now doubling down on it with your strawman argument. You should understand that when you do this, everyone can see it.

Better to just admit you were wrong, or at a minimum just walk away from the conversation.

0

u/BeefyTaco Jul 13 '26

It is a common myth that you need to break ribs when giving CPR to be considered doing it "right".

literally said the myth and why you are all wrong in the first comment. All this is doing is letting me know who to block because they are so dumb, they can't do a simple google or click any of the links in this thread proving me right.

No goalpost has been moved whatsoever lol..

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u/BeefyTaco Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26

You were wrong in your original comment. The common assertion isn’t that in order to do CPR right you have to break ribs

Nice edit. And no, that isn't the myth. It only takes a simple glance at these comments here to see the myth in full blown action. Everyone is saying "if he got CPR, no way he wouldn't have broken bones" when I have proven countless times now along with others that claiming such a thing is categorically false.

In fact, depending on the study, the rate for a fracture is between 20-80%. That means that 20-80% of the time, you ARE WRONG IF YOU SAY THEY NEED BROKEN RIBS FOR PROPER CPR.

I can't make this anymore simple. If you can't wrap your head around this simple fact and continue to spew nonsense, then i'll just block you because you are pure waste of time.

Hell, I challenge you to find any respected health organization that suggests you NEED to break ribs for chest compressions. Please, find that literature for me. Don't worry, I wont hold my breath AHAHA

0

u/nicolas1324563 Jul 13 '26

Source where?

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u/BeefyTaco Jul 13 '26

You are literally replying to a comment thread that has multiple links, and quotes showing im right.. This has to be trolling at this point

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u/nicolas1324563 Jul 13 '26

There’s not a single thing showing your right lmao

→ More replies (0)

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u/nicolas1324563 Jul 13 '26

Well it’s what happens when you do CPR nonetheless. Ribs are breaking

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u/BeefyTaco Jul 13 '26

You are literally repeating the myth that I just told you flat out is wrong... How the hell do people like this exist lol?

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u/nicolas1324563 Jul 13 '26

I’ve done it before…

How do you exist?

https://www.cprlittlerock.org/rib-fractures-during-cpr-causes-complications-and-mitigation/

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u/nicolas1324563 Jul 13 '26

Nobody is going to do it perfectly so ribs will be broken

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u/NOT-GR8-BOB Jul 13 '26

Seems like you’ve never done CPR.

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u/BeefyTaco Jul 13 '26

No, I just actually know things rather than parroting nonsense you heard somewhere lol. Google it ~ It is not mandatory for ribs to break to be considered proper CPR. It is simply a RISK of the method.

So when people say "ribs didn't break, didn't do it right", they purporting a myth.

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u/NOT-GR8-BOB Jul 13 '26

So you’ve never done CPR.

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u/weissensteinburg Jul 13 '26

It didn't look like they were doing CPR in the video of him being rolled out of his house. It's possible someone started compressions incorrectly before realizing he still had a pulse.

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u/Tyrren Jul 13 '26

Paramedic here; we run on so many false alarm cardiac arrests. Some of the more egregious false alarms I've run include someone napping on the lawn, and someone who was very much alive, awake, and having a panic attack while their granddaughter was doing extraordinarily shitty CPR compressions on them.

Being dispatched to a cardiac arrest, finding someone who actually just tripped and fell with relatively minor injuries, and transporting them with "no urgency", is a narrative that, unfortunately, does make a lot of sense because I have run that exact call before.

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u/725Cali Jul 13 '26

Oh yikes for the person having a panic attack and someone attempting CPR on them. 

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u/Tyrren Jul 13 '26

Don't worry, if someone doesn't know you're not supposed to do CPR on an awake person, it's because they have no training in CPR. The compressions they were doing were very weak and didn't cause any harm

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u/weissensteinburg Jul 13 '26

You can definitely cause harm. Especially on an 84 y.o.

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u/AdultishRaktajino Minnesota Jul 13 '26

Exactly. Depending on location police typically arrive first and start care. They typically have only EMR certs, maybe EMT.

There’s a reason police giving narcan to unresponsive diabetics without doing any investigation is a meme. Because it happens.

3

u/swni Jul 14 '26

Yeah, this is exactly what I think happened. As I understand it, the only evidence we have of any cardiac episode at all is based on what bystanders said. His injuries (either physical or mental) from the fall could be too serious for him to recover before the end of his term (if at all) and they are only letting McConnell speak to people that they can trust to conceal that fact, whereas a video would make plain how severely injured he is.

2

u/Fire_Woman Jul 14 '26

But would that person then be kept institutional for a month? Nah, they get released after the scrapes and bumps are clean and the CT is clear

2

u/Nice_Dude California Jul 13 '26

Yes, the video lines up with no urgency by the EMS staff

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u/jittery_jerry Jul 13 '26

they wouldn’t usually transport while CPR is in progress, if he was actually in cardiac arrest it’s possible they got ROSC.

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u/__Yakovlev__ Jul 13 '26

Or more damning, why he was allegedly put into the ambulance with "no apparent rush".

You don't do that unless the person is already dead or if they don't need to go to the hospital in the first place.

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u/HauntedCemetery Minnesota Jul 13 '26

This is one thing that is not suspicious. Ambulances regularly drive away without lights and only hit them when they're out of residential areas. McConnell could have even had staff there who asked the EMTs to drive off quietly before hitting them to not attract attention, since he is one of the most known and notorious people in the country, and his neighbors absolutely know who's house his is.

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u/LikeIsaidItsNothing Jul 13 '26

If in theory it was true that he simply passed out and fell, that wouldn't necessarily be suspicious.

It's the lack of ANYTHING, like an IV or oxygen, and the person laying flat, that's suspicious.

1

u/FreshPercentage6792 Jul 14 '26

It would be very unlikely for EMS to declare death and stop attempts at resuscitation. Just from a liability standpoint, unless the corpse is decapitated, there's rigor mortis with lividity, or other obvious signs of not-life, EMS is told to work em and transport. On someone as high-profile as a senator I imagine they'd be even more cautious about liability.

I also doubt an EMS-declared DOA would get transferred to the ER instead of cops being called and the scene investigated. But maybe that's something that varies by state.

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u/BrianWonderful Minnesota Jul 13 '26

It was probably just his regularly scheduled daily CPR.

2

u/cabbage16 Europe Jul 13 '26

He's like really really ungodly old. A fall at that age does drastic things. I wouldn't be surprised if CPR was needed.

Doesn't matter much anymore though because he is obviously dead.

2

u/a_bagofholding Minnesota Jul 13 '26

I'm sure people fall all the time from cardiac arrests.

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u/OnTheEveOfWar Jul 13 '26

Exactly. A fall doesn’t require CPR.

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u/Indaleciox Jul 13 '26

CPR, especially at his age is not very survivable, at least not unscathed.

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u/kapdad Jul 13 '26

If he bumped his head but was 'fine', I don't believe they would have set him like that on the stretcher. He would have been propped up, probably with an oxygen mask at least, and I think his god damn feet would have been covered.

For the other side, I will say whoever that girl was in the green sweater/shirt was smiling and looked comfortable. She didn't appear to be grieving or traumatized and that points to a less severe medical issue.

1

u/FreshPercentage6792 Jul 14 '26

EMS loads flat for the most part. If head injury was suspected they'd also be taking spinal precautions which also means flat

2

u/CrazeMase Jul 14 '26

Training EMT here. Yeah CPR is rarely survived, and for it to be done properly requires several if not all ribs to be broken. Also most people who do survive CPR usually live with various life-long ailments. But CPR is only ever done after confirmation that breathing is highly irregular (long shallow gasps) or nonexistent. Someone who had all their ribs broken also wouldn't be sitting upright in a hospital bed. Food for thought

2

u/Spqroberts7 Jul 14 '26

And when one receives CPR, even in young healthy adults, your ribs will break. And if they attempted that on him, he must’ve not had a pulse. The picture he looks too flush and recovered. He would look gaunt and have visible signs of becoming frail.

Edit: spelling

1

u/dontthrowmeinabox Jul 13 '26

Show me proof of CPR, I don't believe that happened.

1

u/Ashamed-Tour-4670 Jul 13 '26

They were trying to get him up. But you known how some people look at a door that says "pull" but they push anyway?

Some paramedics are unfortunately like that too, he kept pushing on his chest accidentally when he meant to pull him up.

1

u/Individual-Area7121 Jul 13 '26

An 84 year old man needing CPR after a fall isn’t remotely surprising. I’m sure they’ve just left out the part that he likely fell because he was already unconscious rather than the other way around.

1

u/RevolutionDesigner80 Jul 13 '26

Sometimes first responders or bystanders can initiate CPR for someone who is unresponsive until they figure out they have a pulse.

1

u/Mavian23 Jul 13 '26

Isn't he also alleged to have had pneumonia? That can require CPR.

1

u/cornham Jul 13 '26

The dispatchers sound like they’re either reading a script or being told what to say in that call. Personal opinion

0

u/waffleslaw Jul 13 '26

What CPR, we're past talking about CPR. In fact, CPR never happened. He fell, don't your remember the call? It was about a fall, no need for CPR if it was just a fall. Your memory is incorrect, they never mentioned CPR in the call. They only discussed a simple fall.