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Trump seems to question well-known part of Sen. Mitch McConnell’s life — his childhood polio battle
By BRUCE SCHREINERUpdated 6:03 PM CST, February 13, 2025
President Donald Trump seemed to question a well-documented part of Sen. Mitch McConnell’s life — his childhood battle with polio — after the Kentucky Republican opposed vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation Thursday as the nation’s top health official.
Trump attacked McConnell’s mental acuity and said he had “no idea” if the senator had polio. The Oval Office barrage exposed the icy relationship between the Republican president and the former Senate GOP leader. They worked in tandem on tax cuts and judicial appointments during Trump’s first term, but their relationship soured after McConnell blamed Trump for “disgraceful” acts in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack and the president made personal comments about McConnell and his family.
McConnell’s office did not immediately respond to the president’s attack Thursday. Earlier, the senator referred to himself as a survivor of childhood polio and talked about the life-saving impact of vaccines, in explaining his opposition to Kennedy’s confirmation as Trump’s health secretary.
“I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles,” McConnell said in the statement.
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