Says Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron “married his mentor Mitch McConnell's granddaughter."
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No, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron is not married to a Mitch McConnell relative
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• A spokesperson for McConnell confirmed that Cameron’s wife was not the senator’s granddaughter.
Kentucky’s Attorney General Daniel Cameron has been considered one of Sen. Mitch McConnell’s proteges for years. Now, social media users are claiming that Cameron’s July 31 marriage made the two family.
"Ummm sisters I'm hearing Daniel Cameron married his mentor Mitch McConnell's granddaughter," reads the text on a viral Facebook image. Underneath the text, there are engagement photos of Cameron and his fiancee. We have also seen posts saying the woman is McConnell's neice.
The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
Cameron married his second wife on July 31 in a small outdoor ceremony, according to a Louisville Courier Journal report. A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also confirmed for the Courier Journal that McConnell attended the wedding.
Cameron’s office has been tight-lipped when it comes to releasing details of the marriage. Although they confirmed the wedding occurred, they declined to provide any more details about what they described as a "private event," to the Louisville Courier Journal.
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However, there is no evidence that Cameron’s new wife is also McConnell’s granddaughter or related at all. A spokesperson for McConnell confirmed that Cameron’s wife was not the senator’s granddaughter, nor was she related to McConnell in any way. The spokesperson also pointed to a tweet from a reporter who has covered McConnell for some time.
Phillip M. Bailey, a Kentucky-based political reporter, debunked the post’s claim in a tweet at the end of July before the couple was married but after they were engaged.
"I'll say this once and only once because this is so not the issue at hand, but is becoming somewhat of an actual distraction for some folks on the left who either keep asking or telling me. @DanielCameronAG is NOT engaged to @senatemajldr Mitch McConnell's granddaughter," he tweeted.
McConnell attended Cameron’s wedding, but there is no evidence he was related to the bride as the post suggests.
We rate this claim False.
Update (Sept. 25, 2020): This post has been updated to also refute claims that Cameron married McConnell's niece. The rating is unchanged.
Our Sources
The Hill, "McConnell protege emerges as Kentucky's next rising star," Nov. 13, 2019
Louisville Courier Journal, "Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron gets married with Mitch McConnell in attendance," Aug. 3, 2020
WLKY, "AG Daniel Cameron got married Friday, and McConnell was a guest," Aug. 4, 2020
Essence, "Kentucky AG Slow To Bring Charges In Breonna Taylor Case Hosts Mentor Mitch McConnell At Wedding," Aug. 5, 2020
Britannica, "Mitch McConnell," accessed Sept. 24, 2020
Vibe, "Kentucky AG Criticized For Celebrating Engagement While Breonna Taylor Case Stalls," July 1, 2020
BET, "Breonna Taylor’s Family Reportedly Outraged Over Kentucky AG’s Engagement Pics," July 1, 2020
Email interview with Stephanie Penn, spokesperson for Sen. Mitch McConnell, Sept. 24, 2020
Twitter, Phillip M. Bailey’s Tweet, July 28, 2020
U.S. News, "10 Things You Didn't Know About Mitch McConnell," Sept. 18, 2017
In Style, "How Daughters of High-Profile Republicans Became Progressive Icons," Aug. 17, 2020
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No, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron is not married to a Mitch McConnell relative
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