CNN: Scott Jennings’ New Mitch McConnell Health Update Baffles Fellow Panelists

CNN’s Scott Jennings claimed he had another personal phone call with Mitch McConnell on Tuesday (August 11), leaving his fellow panelists to wonder why the Republican senator still won’t speak publicly.

On Tuesday’s edition of The Arena, Jennings said that McConnell called him “directly from his phone,” explaining, “Now you have to understand, I’ve known him since I was 16, 17 years old. So we’ve had a relationship for a long time. I worked on a lot of his campaigns over the years, so it’s not unusual for us to chat.”

According to Jennings, McConnell was “really up on the campaigns,” adding, “He’s a political operative at heart. We talked a lot about the Michigan Senate race. We talked about Maine a little bit, talked about just the map in general.”

McConnell has been the subject of speculation since he was hospitalized on June 14 and went weeks without a public appearance or an update on his condition. In July, the senator’s team sent an email update on his health, along with a photo of McConnell sitting upright in a hospital bed with his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, by his side.

Mitch McConnell phone call lands Scott Jennings in CNN hot seat. https://t.co/W9VHUBfEML

🎥: CNN pic.twitter.com/SFOKMGJZ5D

— TMZ (@TMZ) August 12, 2026

Despite the update, McConnell still hasn’t spoken publicly about his condition or when he intends to return to work. This led CNN contributor Lulu Garcia-Navarro to ask Jennings why the senator is happy to have phone chats with him but won’t call a “credible news organization.”

“Scott, why isn’t he calling in to a credible news organization? I mean, why is he talking to you and not talking to…” Garcia-Navarro began, per Mediaite.

Jennings interrupted, quipping, “You’re saying it’s not credible to call me?”

Anchor Pamela Brown could be heard in the background, asking whether Jennings could “call him right now.” However, Jennings ignored the question and kept his focus on Garcia-Navarro.

Garcia-Navarro said it was “totally credible” for McConnell to call Jennings, but added, “Why isn’t he calling into even one [news organization] that he would consider friendly, like Fox News? I mean, I guess that’s the prevailing question.”

“My view of him and frankly, my belief about males of that generation, is that they’re intensely private, to be honest,” Jennings replied. “He’s always been a little private about his own personal health care. You know, he’s a polio survivor, and one of the issues that he’s had over time is weakness in his legs. I think that’s part of what’s going on here and part of the conditioning that he is having to go through right now.”

Brown then asked whether Jennings had at least invited McConnell to call in to his radio show to provide a public update.

“I hope that he will call into my radio show. I’ve had him on before and I’m hoping to have him on as we get closer to win the Senate,” Jennings said.

The conservative commentator also claimed that McConnell finds the entire situation “frustrating,” noting, “He told me today, he said, ‘I know this is unusual circumstances. I’m sitting here. The doctors tell me I don’t have any life-threatening issues. It must seem rather strange.’ So yeah, I got the feeling he’s somewhat aware of it and frankly, somewhat frustrated by it.”