Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), a leading member of Congress, has experienced another reported freeze while speaking to reporters, which could prompts calls for term limits.
What Happened: While addressing the media in Covington, Kentucky, McConnell froze at the podium. The incident comes around a month after McConnell froze on Capitol Hill.
As seen in a video from local news station WLWT, McConnell appeared to freeze for more than 30 seconds. The lapse came after McConnell, who has served in the U.S. Senate since 1985 was asked if he would run for re-election in 2024.
McConnell serves as the Senate Minority Leader and was taking questions from the press after giving a speech at a Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce event, as reported by NBC News.
After realizing McConnell may have frozen, an aide asked the 81-year-old senator if he heard the question. McConnell appeared to unfreeze and answered two other questions that had to be repeated to him by an aide.
Members of the press present at the event did not ask McConnell about the freezing before he left.
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Why It’s Important: Wednesday’s incident follows a previous episode where McConnell froze mid-speech during a Capitol Hill press conference, eventually being led away from the podium by multiple individuals.
The event happened after McConnell suffered a concussion earlier in the year.
Following the July episode where he froze, it has come to light that McConnell had several falls in 2023 that were not publicly reported.
McConnell's recent episodes have sparked conversations about the need for term limits and concerns over the age of elected officials.
“We need a constitutional amendment. This is insane,” Elon Musk previously said about McConnell’s freezing at the podium in July.
Investor Chamath Palihapitiya responded to the video of McConnell Wednesday and encouraged voters to be more deliberate with getting younger leaders into politics.
“Wake up America! The greatest country in the world REQUIRES young, indefatigable, dynamic leadership, Palihapitiya said.
He said that politicians are being elected and kept in power and then decaying “in front of our eyes.”
The investor said it was a bipartisan issue, with both the Republicans and Democrats having older members in Congress.
“We need to elect younger people on both sides of the aisle and give them a shot.”
Palihapitiya said the time is now and voters need “to start right away.”
“We need to thanks these folks for their service and they need to ride into the sunset.”
Photo: Shutterstock
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