A man seen in a viral video declining to shake Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) hand at the late Rep. Elijah Cummings's (D-Md.) funeral said the snub wasn’t based on his loyalty to Cummings as a friend.
The man, identified as Bobby Rankin, told The Washington Post on Monday he blamed McConnell for denying veterans’ benefits to his brother before he died last October from cancer after being exposed to contaminated water while serving in the Marines.
“When I saw Mitch McConnell, all I saw was my brother’s face,” Rankin told the Post.
In a 16-second clip, Rankin, one of Cummings's pallbearers, is seen passing over McConnell while shaking the hands of congressional leaders. He skips straight from shaking the hand of Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), apparently snubbing McConnell, who stands between the top Democrats.
The clip was widely shared on Twitter, but Rankin told the Post he hadn’t seen the video until a reporter from the newspaper contacted him.