Here’s what happened…
On Wednesday, President Biden revealed his intention to reach out to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) following an incident where McConnell appeared to become unresponsive while addressing reporters. The incident took place in Covington, Ky. This event marks the second instance in recent times where McConnell abruptly halted his speech during a press briefing.
According to The Hill, during a discussion about the Hurricane Idalia response at the White House, President Biden commented on the situation, expressing that he considers McConnell a friend despite their political differences. He emphasized his plan to contact McConnell later in the day to discuss the incident further.
Both McConnell and Biden, aged 81 and 80 respectively, had served together in the Senate for over two decades, until Biden assumed the vice presidency in 2009.
When asked whether McConnell should seek reelection, President Biden turned to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who was by his side, and playfully inquired if Mayorkas had any such plans. Mayorkas responded in the negative, leading Biden to express his gratitude to the reporters before leaving the room.
The incident involving McConnell occurred when he was questioned about his potential candidacy for the 2026 reelection. He struggled to process the question, asking for it to be repeated twice. His response was cut short with a brief pause and a frozen demeanor for approximately 30 seconds. MSNBC, posted a video of this episode on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
In response to the incident, a spokesperson for McConnell clarified that the GOP leader had a momentary feeling of lightheadedness, leading to a pause during his press conference. This situation comes on the heels of a similar occurrence a month ago when McConnell experienced a freeze while addressing questions during his regular press conference at the Capitol.