Mitch McConnell Escorted Away After Freezing During News Conference
Can the US get term limits already.
The 81-year-old Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell inexplicably froze and stopped speaking during a weekly Republican leadership news conference Wednesday afternoon, and went silent before he was escorted away.
The Kentucky Republican had been making his opening remarks about an annual defense policy bill when he suddenly stopped talking. The Republican leader was silent for 19 seconds, leaving reporters and senators in stunned silence. His Republican colleagues asked if he was OK, and Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, a top McConnell deputy who previously worked as a physician before serving in Congress, escorted McConnell away from the cameras and reporters.
Flag: McConnell just stopped abruptly during his opening statement during the gop leadership presser and appeared to be unable to restart talking. He then stepped away and walked away with Barrasso: pic.twitter.com/f1kFUjggzm
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) July 26, 2023
A few minutes later, McConnell walked back to the news conference by himself. When asked about his health, he said he was fine. Asked whether he is fully able to do his job, McConnell said, “Yeah.”
UPDATE: McConnell is back at the presser. pic.twitter.com/hrAdKXpAVX
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) July 26, 2023
Asked about the episode, a McConnell aide pointed to the GOP leader saying, “I’m fine,” but the aide added that McConnell “felt lightheaded and stepped away for a moment.”
“He came back to handle Q&A, which as everyone observed was sharp,” the aide said.
McConnell spoke to reporters briefly on Wednesday night as he left the Capitol and said, “The president called to check on me.”
“I told him I got sandbagged,” McConnell joked.
Senator Mitch McConnell’s response to the incident today at the press conference where he froze up: “The President called to check on me. I told him I got sandbagged”
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 27, 2023
Both the White House and a spokesperson for the senator confirmed that Biden and McConnell spoke by phone Wednesday. It was unclear how many extended and inexplicable silences permeated that particular conversation.
Asked by reporters how he was feeling, McConnell said, “I’m fine.” He did not directly answer what happened earlier in the day or whether he saw a doctor.
The Republican leader tripped and fell March 8 after an event for the Senate Leadership Fund — a Republican super PAC aligned with McConnell and GOP leadership — at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington. He was hospitalized with a concussion and a minor rib fracture and was discharged March 13 before entering rehab. McConnell didn’t return to the Senate, however, until mid-April.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told NBC News on Wednesday that he met with McConnell following the Senate GOP leadership press conference for a regularly scheduled meeting “to catch up on both houses.”
“He was good,” McCarthy said. “There was no concerns about his health in the meeting.”
According to NBC, McConnell has served in the Senate since 1985, nearly 40 years ago. He isn’t up for re-election again until the 2026 midterm elections when he will be 84.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 07/26/2023 – 20:20
