This is pretty worrisome. Something happened to Mitch McConnell today just moments after he started a weekly press conference for GOP leadership. McConnell spoke a few sentences and then just stopped in the middle of a sentence.
“We’ve had good bipartisan cooperation and a string of —” McConnell said.
He then froze and remained silent for about 20 seconds, staring straight ahead, before other members of GOP leadership intervened. Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), standing at McConnell’s side, asked whether he was okay, but McConnell did not respond verbally.
“Do you want to say anything else to the press?” Barrasso asked McConnell, before suggesting that McConnell take a break.
McConnell stood off to the side for a moment before being led away from the press event. He returned a few minutes later and was asked about his condition. “I’m fine,” he replied.
An aide to McConnell who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly said the minority leader felt “lightheaded.”
“He felt lightheaded and stepped away for a moment. He came back to handle Q and A,” the aide said.
I hope he is okay but this was a pretty dramatic senior moment. Watch the video below and you’ll see he just goes black for a while.
Politico has a story up about some of the reaction to this. President Biden called McConnell to express his concern and McConnell made a joke about it.
“I told him I got sandbagged,” McConnell said, a reference to Biden’s public fall over a sandbag earlier this year. “I’m fine. I’m fine, that’s the important part. Got to watch those sandbags.”…
“I just hope he’s doing OK. We really all hope he’s doing OK,” said Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who was next to McConnell during the press event. “I was just concerned, I want to make sure everybody is well.”…
“I understand he was a little lightheaded, but returned to answer questions. So I have no reason to believe he’s not doing well,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a former whip who has expressed interest in at some point being GOP leader. “I’m not going to head down that road. I’ll support Sen. McConnell as long as he wants to continue to serve.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who works closely with McConnell, said he wished the minority leader well.
Mitch McConnell is 81 years old. All of these folks are getting too old to run the country. In fact, McConnell isn’t quite among the top 10 oldest members of congress.
I’ve written several times about the fact that Joe Biden is obviously too old to run for a 2nd term in office. It’s probably the top issue in his reelection campaign. People can see he’s not completely with it anymore. I’ve also said that Donald Trump, while currently in better shape than Biden, will be too old for a 2nd term in 2024 as he’ll be 78, the same age Biden was when he was elected. At that age most people should be retiring not making a four (or six) year commitment to a grueling schedule.
Naturally, this incident is national news today and it should be. But it’s going to put Democrats in a pretty awkward position. They really can’t make anything out of this without opening themselves up to similar questions about Joe Biden. So my guess is they’ll play nice and avoid it but who knows. The temptation to attack McConnell may be too much for some Democrats and some members of the media to resist.
JUST IN: Mitch McConnell, who has been in office for nearly 4 decades, responds after he appeared to have a seizure during a press conference.
“The president called to check on me. I told him I got sandbagged,” he said as he ignored questions from reporters.
The only… pic.twitter.com/edjkxEAJVS
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 26, 2023
And of course there are always people like this. Not everyone on the left is like this but there are quite a few who are.
When those demons you’ve entertained for decades — to the detriment of those in need — whisper in your ear to let you know they’re coming soon to collect your wretched soul… https://t.co/ult7fb352D
— yvette nicole brown (@YNB) July 26, 2023
Read the full article here