Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made headlines on Wednesday afternoon after he froze up for 30 seconds during a Capitol press conference before staff escorted him away from the podium.
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
Speculation about the reason for McConnell’s blank stare and uncomfortable silence swirled on social media. Approximately 15 minutes after he was hurried away, however, McConnell returned to reporters and declared, “I’m fine.”
Q: “Could you address what happened here at the start of the press conference and was it related to your injury from earlier this year where you suffered a concussion?”
Sen. McConnell: “I’m fine.”
Q: “You’re fine? You’re fully able to do your job?”
McConnell: “Yeah.” pic.twitter.com/Can1RtzqmM
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 26, 2023
“The president called to check up on me and I told him I got sandbagged,” McConnell later explained, jokingly referring to President Joe Biden’s onstage spill at the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation in June.
SENATE MINORITY LEADER MCCONNELL: “The President called to check up on me and I told him I got sandbagged”
McConnell doesn’t answer questions about what happened, just says “I’m fine” pic.twitter.com/cm8tvoiLIH
— Nathaniel Reed (@ReedReports) July 26, 2023
Much like Biden, McConnell also tripped and fell earlier this month as he attempted to disembark from an airplane at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Before that, he was hospitalized for five days
