For the second time, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell froze on Wednesday during a news conference in Covington, Kentucky, the Republican leader’s home state. He stopped for more than 30 seconds after he was asked if he would run for re-election in 2026. Other members of the party start questioning him about his future in the Senate.
Mr. McConnell started answering the question with a chuckle. Then he abruptly stopped speaking, his mouth pursed and his eyes fixed. Again. One of his aides intervened and approached him asking, “Did you hear the question, senator?”. But the 81-year-old Senator didn’t move. After at least 30 seconds, McConnell recovered and responded to a different question about Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a Republican. Before the end of the press conference, his aide needed to repeat two questions.
These episodes come after a concussion he experienced in March, when he fell at a Washington hotel during a fun-raising event. His office hasn’t disclosed anything about his health status, but since then, he has had at least two more falls and last July he froze mid-sentence on camera for 19 seconds. He was attending a news conference on Capitol Hill when he went abruptly silent and his aides were forced to escort him away.
Here’s the raw unedited video of Mitch McConnell freezing while speaking to the press.#McConnell #Mitch pic.twitter.com/BXrNZBq2KV
— ThePoliticoSphere (@GlobePolitico) August 30, 2023
