McConnell Responds After Freezing at Press Briefing, Prompting Concern

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) speaks to the press after meeting President Joe Biden and other leaders at the White House on May 16, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

After beginning remarks at a July 26 press conference, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) appeared to freeze up for almost 20 seconds, concerning colleagues and the press corps and prompting his colleagues to ask after and assist him.

Mr. McConnell began the conference by saying, “We’re on a path to finishing the NDAA this week, we’ve had good bipartisan cooperation.”

He then stopped talking, only staring ahead.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) asked, “Are you good, Mitch?”

Then Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) asked, “Are you okay, Mitch? Do you want to say anything else to the press?” before helping him from the podium and to his office.

Mr. McConnell later returned to the press conference and took questions from reporters.

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“Could you address what happened here at the start of the press conference, and was it related to your injury from earlier this year when you suffered a concussion?” he was asked.

Mr. McConnell replied, “I’m fine.”

He was then asked, “You’re fine? You’re fully able to do your job?”

“Yeah,” Mr. McConnell responded before taking other questions from reporters.

He brushed off another question about who would succeed him as the Republican leader and addressed congressional spending, Hunter Biden, and the possibility of impeachment proceedings against President Joe Biden.

“We had not one but two impeachments, and once we go down this path, it incentivizes the other side to do the same thing,” Mr. McConnell said, according to Politico. “This is not good for the country, to have repeated impeachment problems.”

An aide told The Epoch Times afterward regarding Mr. McConnell: “He felt lightheaded and stepped away for a moment. He came back to handle Q and A, which, as everyone observed, was sharp.”

In March, Mr. McConnell tripped at a dinner event, resulting in a concussion and a minor rib fracture. He was hospitalized and then discharged after a few days to enter an inpatient rehabilitation facility, and he returned to the Senate in mid-April.

This year, he became the longest-serving party leader in Senate history. Mr. McConnell, 81, was first elected to lead the Republican conference in 2006.

Dr. Barrasso, who’s also a physician, told Politico that he was concerned when Mr. McConnell first suffered a concussion but wasn’t on July 26.

“I was concerned when he fell and hit his head a number of months ago. He was hospitalized and he’s made a remarkable recovery, he’s doing a great job leading our conference,” he said. “He was able to answer every question that the press asked him today.

“And you may note, he answered more questions than he normally does.”

Jackson Richman contributed to this report.