Reports show Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell froze and looked ill during a news presser, prompting his colleagues and aides to move him away from the podium.
McConnell was in the middle of a statement to the press when he stopped talking and stared into space. Nearly a minute later, his staff escorted him back to his office. But he later returned to the news conference on his own.
When reporters asked how he felt, McConnel assured them that he was “fine.”
NBC News published an exclusive revelation that casts more doubt on the Minority Leader’s health because of an incident at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
The news outlet reported that Senator McConnell collapsed while stepping off an aircraft on July 14. The flight out of DC was canceled, with everyone still on board.
According to the report, a passenger saw McConnell’s “face plant” and helped respond to the senator. The report revealed that McConnell now uses a wheelchair as a precaution at airports.
An anonymous senator expressed worry that McConnell is moving more slowly than usual and has declined to discuss his health difficulties with his Republican colleagues. Some believe the fall at his house in March is linked to his current predicament. A concussion and a shattered rib sidelined him from the Senate for six weeks.
According to spokesperson David Popp, McConnell was hospitalized for several days after a fall on March 9 while and was receiving treatment for a concussion and a cracked rib throughout that time.
McConnell fell over at a dinner for the Senate Leadership Fund super PAC held at the Waldorf Astoria DC.
Reports show that in 2003, McConnell had cardiac bypass surgery. In 2019, he fell at his house in Louisville, Kentucky, breaking his shoulder.
McConnell was first elected to the Senate in 1984.
