All posts tagged "Kentucky"

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) put out a statement that he's been discharged from a rehabilitation center, but online sleuths aren't buying it.

McConnell was recovering from a fall he suffered in mid-June, but the lack of public appearances and two proof-of-life photos have drawn scrutiny and doubt. His absence has also caused problems for the GOP Senate, as he hasn't been able to cast a vote, including on his committees.

"Earlier today, I was discharged from the rehabilitation center to continue my recovery at home," a statement from McConnell's office read. "Elaine and I are grateful for the many well wishes."...

CNN conservative pundit Scott Jennings admitted Thursday that Republicans could do more to clarify Sen. Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) health status.

Jennings told CNN anchor Jake Tapper that McConnell, who he claims he spoke with earlier this week, has "always been pretty guarded about his own health issues."

Tapper asked the MAGA analyst if he had spoken with the longtime Republican lawmaker again since their reported 17-minute chat on Tuesday. Jennings, who is a Kentucky voter and has known McConnell since he was a teenager, said he had spoken with senior members of the senator's team. ...

President Donald Trump was angry on Tuesday after Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) — a sharp critic of the president — pointed out that Trump had endorsed him in the past.

Massie, an incumbent lawmaker fighting to maintain his congressional seat as a Republican representing Kentucky, has been going up against Trump-backed candidate Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein in a heated primary that's been called the most expensive House primary in history.

Hours before polls were set to close, Trump tore into Massie, who has publicly questioned the president's ties to late financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the Iran war and the country's affordability crisis. The president lambasted the longtime GOP leader on his Truth Social platform. ...

President Donald Trump's nemesis Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) this week dropped a scathing advertisement calling out his opponent Ed Gallrein, who was endorsed by the president, accusing him of having wavering loyalty to Trump.

The vocal Trump critic released the attack ad on Thursday ahead of Kentucky's primary election on May 19, The Bulwark reported. Massie has remained "Congress’s biggest remaining Republican thorn in the president’s side" and worked to release the Epstein Files under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

"Even as Trump has tried to punish him for his insubordination by standing up a MAGA primary challenger in his district, Massie has seemed unfazed, constantly tweaking the president online with what looks like merry bravado," according to The Bulwark. ...

President Donald Trump's signature trade policy is wreaking havoc on the economy of one of the reddest states in the country, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In a Friday editorial, the Journal argued that the recent decision by the Jim Beam distillery to halt production at its Claremont, Kentucky facility for all of 2026 can be chalked up to Trump's tariffs. While the distillery didn't outright blame tariffs for its decision, the Journal pointed out that Canada has continued to hold off on its importing of Kentucky bourbon, which has dealt a significant blow to the Bluegrass State's signature export.

"After Mr. Trump picked a tariff fight with Canada, the country responded by pulling U.S. spirits from its shelves. The bilateral relationship has recovered some, but exports didn’t," the editorial read....

Despite having a centrist Democratic governor in Andy Beshear, Kentucky is a deep-red state that Donald Trump carried in three presidential elections in a row. Nationally, Trump defeated Democratic nominee Kamala Harris by roughly 1.5 percent in 2024; in Kentucky, he won by 31 percent.

But in an article published on Thanksgiving 2025, The Nation's Zachary Clifton focuses on struggling Trump voters in Kentucky who are feeling disillusioned with his economic policies.

"In an April morning in 1964," Clifton explains, "President Lyndon B. Johnson landed in Martin County, Kentucky, stepping from Marine One to the hollers of a rural county where 60 percent of residents lived in poverty. ...