Following a major stumble by Jesse Benton, the campaign manager for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who revealed in a phone call that he’s effectively “holding his nose” while in reality laying the groundwork for Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul’s presidential bid, McConnell attempted to flip the script and have some fun with the rotten news.

The spoof “reaction” features McConnell and Benton cracking wise about the real stinker in all this being that troublesome law the GOP loves to deride as “Obamacare.”

McConnell racked up more than 1,000 “likes” for the gag photo — but also opened himself up to online roasting by irate detractors:

Guess we’ll have to wait and see whether Benton, and by extension McConnell, emerge from this latest episode smelling like roses.