Kaitlan Collins Grills Scott Jennings on McConnell’s Health

Conservative CNN commentator Scott Jennings said he spoke with Mitch McConnell this week and pushed back on grave speculation about the senator’s health—but Kaitlan Collins wasn’t letting him off the hook.

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The long-ailing McConnell was captured on video being rushed on a stretcher by ambulance from his home a month ago, after he was found unconscious in his Washington, D.C. home and required CPR.

“McConnell’s team still hasn’t disclosed why he is in the hospital, or when he is expected to be released,” Collins explained, before asking Jennings directly: “Did you know that he had been taken in an ambulance before this?”

Jennings, who worked for McConnell in top campaign roles during his 2002 and 2008 Senate runs, appeared to feign ignorance during his appearance with Collins on CNN’s The Source on Friday. “Well, I certainly heard he’d gone to the hospital, and traditionally, the way you go to the hospital is by ambulance,” Jennings responded. Only 18 percent of emergency room patients arrive via ambulance.

Jennings claimed earlier this week that McConnell had called him on Tuesday.

“What did he say to you?” Collins challenged.

“‘Hey, just calling to check in,’” Jennings quoted McConnell as saying, amid the storm erupting over his abrupt and near-total absence from public life. Jennings insisted that the 17-minute conversation included discussions about a variety of “policy” issues, including the Iran War.

Jennings admitted to Collins that he was “surprised” McConnell called him. He said he posted information about the call on social media “because everyone thought he was dead.”

Collins again pressed him, asking Jennings whether he had informed McConnell about “conspiracy theories prolific on social media,” including that McConnell is no longer alive. Jennings confessed that he did not.

Jennings did concede that “there needs to be a little transparency here” by Republican leaders about McConnell’s health. “Transparency here would have saved them some grief,” he added.

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McConnell’s office has been tight-lipped on the senator’s health, frequently recycling its July 2 statement that read, “Senator McConnell appreciates the outpouring of support he’s receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital. The Senator continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.”

McConnell’s staff is led by his longtime, camera-shy aide Terry Carmack, who is on track to earn more than $226,000 this year.

Earlier Friday on CNN, Jennings said he had not spoken again to McConnell since their recent phone call.

“I haven’t spoken with him directly,” Jennings told Kasie Hunt on The Arena after she reported the network had exclusively obtained the McConnell ambulance footage.

“I have been in touch with his staff. I know he’s been meeting with his staff the last couple of days,” and planned to meet with them Friday afternoon, Jennings added. “He’s getting briefed and talking about issues with the team. It sounds like someone who’s staying engaged with the duties at the moment.“

CNN has distanced itself from Jennings’ on-air comments about McConnell. A network spokesperson told the Daily Beast that Jennings, who is among a small handful of GOP insiders who claim to have spoken to McConnell this week, “is not a full-time employee or journalist” at CNN, and does not represent the network.