Mitch McConnell said after freezing during a press conference that he felt "fine," although "got sandbagged," a reference to President Biden's fall during the graduation ceremony. However, the health of the Republican minority leader in the Senate once again set off alarm bells among members of the conservative party. The incident of his paralysis during a Wednesday press conference comes on top of three other falls the veteran minority leader has suffered this year.
Odd moment: McConnell freezes at start of Senate GOP leadership press conference and is escorted to the side by his colleagues pic.twitter.com/hT5bLnstOS
— Raquel Martin (@RaquelMartinTV) July 26, 2023
The first incident occurred in February during a trip to Finland, when McConnell and a U.S. delegation met with Finnish President in Helsinki. This previously unreported incident occurred just days before McConnell experienced another fall in March, at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington, where he hit his head, suffered a concussion and fractured his ribs. The senator was almost six weeks from all political activity.
The 81-year-old lawmaker then had another accident in July at the Reagan National Airport in Washington. The veteran congressman was getting off an airplane when he tripped and fell. That day he returned to the Capitol and continued his work as reported by NBC.
"I got sandbagged"
During the pandemic, the Republican told of his struggle with polio as a child. He also acknowledged the difficulties he has in climbing stairs. However, yesterday his health again worried citizens when his party colleagues had to assist him so that he could finish talking to journalists.
Hours later, the senator joked that he felt "like a punching bag." "President Joe Biden called to check on me and I told him I got sandbagged," McConnell said, referencing an incident earlier this year when the president made a similar joke after tripping over a punching bag.
IceManCRYPTOS : 🇺🇸 Don’t worry Mitch McConnell is fine he says…
a reporter asked if he was Dehydrated 🤣
Oh and by the way the president called to ask how he was doing, he told him he got sand bagged
It’s fine, everything’s ok… 👍🏻 pic.twitter.com/MUZoDWq7V9
— Lou (@IceManCRYPTOS) July 26, 2023
When asked by reporters about what happened and how he was feeling, the conservative leader maintained that he is fine. Despite his insistence to dispel concerns, several Republicans assured that they believe everything is under control. "That obviously was troubling. I hope it was just a momentary problem and he's doing better," Sen. Ted Cruz told Politico.
