(NewsNation) — Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell was the subject of a scathing "pre-obituary" by his hometown newspaper.

Joseph Gerth, a columnist for the Louisville Courier Journal, published a piece reflecting on the 84-year-old's career even though McConnell is still alive.

The piece was highly critical, saying McConnell dismantled civil rights protections he once advocated and enabled President Donald Trump.

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"Unlike Nixon, McConnell never paid for his sins that have damaged our nation's trust in government, destroyed the country's ability to have meaningful dialogue and cemented our nation's politics as an arena in which winning is the only thing that matters," Gerth wrote in the publication, calling McConnell a "detestable figure."

McConnell was hospitalized June 14 after a fall at his home. His condition gained national attention after his office went nearly a month without updating the public on his status.

Gerth noted the idea behind the McConnell piece was prompted by the death of longtime Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, earlier this month.

"That got me thinking about Sen. Mitch McConnell, who was rumored to be dead or on life support or in a coma or whatever and was the odds-on favorite to beat Graham to the gates of hell in the days before Graham's death," Gerth wrote. "And, so with McConnell allegedly on the mend, I figured I'd go ahead and tell you what I think about McConnell now — when no one can complain, 'How dare you write that about a dead guy?'"

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McConnell was first elected to the Senate 42 years ago. He has gone on to win reelection six times, becoming the state's longest-serving senator.

"He had more guts as a young man than he had as an old man," Gerth stated. "It seems somehow fitting for the ultimate shape-shifter, who wrote about accompanying Sen. John Sherman Cooper to see Johnson sign the Voting Rights Act into law, that the court he created was the court that struck down the last remaining significant provision."

On July 12, nearly one month after his hospitalization, McConnell released a picture of himself along with a full statement on his condition. The photo showed him sitting in a hospital bed holding a newspaper beside his wife, Elaine Chao.

NewsNation's Ashley Soriano contributed to this report.

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