Octogenarian Mitch McConnell (R-KY) moved Sunday to squash speculation about his state of health after being asked about two recent lapses into frozen silence while in the public eye.
McConnell was challenged over the instances in an interview with CBS News. The 81-year-old Kentucky representative used the opportunity to modestly insist he is “completely recovered” and there was no cause for public concern.
“Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan quizzed the political veteran on whether there is anything the public should know about his health, after which he advised they change the subject.
“I’m in good shape – completely recovered and back on the job,” he said, months after being hospitalized and treated for a concussion following a fall at a D.C. dinner event in March, as Breitbart News reported.
“I’m fine. I’m completely recovered, and I’m just fine,” he said, further offering he is now “back on the job.”
More recently he appeared to freeze for some 30 seconds when asked if he will run again in Kentucky.
Brennan said: “You and your office felt the need to share and disclose several of the details about your health after some of these public incidents – the doctor here said there was no evidence of Parkinson’s disease, or a stroke, or a seizure.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks a meeting with Senate Republicans at the U.S. Capitol September 6, 2023 in Washington, DC. McConnell declined to elaborate about his recent health issues and pointed reporters to a statement from the Attending Physician of Congress Dr. Brian P. Monahan. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
She went on to enquire: “And I wonder, is there anything the public should know that wasn’t disclosed?” at which point McConnell said for the second time he was completely recovered, and competent enough both mentally and physically to continue with his six-year term.
McConnell has served as a senator from Kentucky since 1985, and, on top of that, held leadership roles in the Senate for much of the last couple of decades.
He remains the third-oldest Senate official behind Bernie Sanders and Iowa’s Chuck Grassley; however, he first suddenly stopped talking in front of press back in July, following which he had to be walked away from a podium after freezing in front for several seconds.
WATCH: Mitch McConnell Freezes Mid-Speech, Led Away from Podium
C-SPANA month later, another similar incident sparked public interest – after which McConnell drew support among his GOP Senate colleagues in his bid to continue serving.
The second time he froze was in front of a press gaggle with similar concerns mounting afterwards about his health.
In 2019 McConnell’s health first came to the fore in the public domain when he was treated and released after he tripped on his patio at his Kentucky home.
“This morning, Leader McConnell tripped at home on his outside patio and suffered a fractured shoulder,” said David Popp, Communications Director for Mitch McConnell, in a statement just after the fall.
“He has been treated, released, and is working from home in Louisville.”
McConnell survived polio as a child and has spoken openly about his experience beating the disease, including in a 2020 AP interview where he said, even in adulthood, long-term physical impacts of illness made it difficult to climb stairs.
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