WASHINGTON — Sen. Mitch McConnell on Sunday revealed for the first time that a fall led to his hospitalization, breaking the silence about his condition after weeks of mounting speculation about the Kentucky Republican’s health.
McConnell, 84, said in a statement that he was “briefly unconscious” around the time he was first taken to the hospital and has undergone a battery of tests to try and determine what led to his fall. He said he was also treated for mild pneumonia and has been moved to a rehabilitation facility.
“My doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion. I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don’t have any tumors or hemorrhages,” McConnell said, adding that he is now “regaining my strength.”
McConnell’s statement came on the heels of the unexpected death of his fellow Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. McConnell said he cannot return to the Senate “quite yet.”
Coupled with Graham’s passing, that will temporarily whittle the GOP majority in that chamber down by two, to 51-47, as Republicans try to increase military funding, advance President Donald Trump’s agenda and confirm Trump’s nominees.
Ambulance personnel were giving him CPR. You dont get CPR for a fall. So this is clearly lies. Mitch is dead.
if hes alive, why did they have to make a fake photo?
Or they stuffed his corpse and propped it on a chair. Taxidermy does take a few weeks to get done.
In the video of Mitch being loaded into the ambulance he is not receiving CPR. I have read reports that calls to dispatch said he was under cardiac arrest, but I gotta say, the video of him being loaded into the ambulance doesn’t seem all that hurried as I would expect from a cardiac event.
It’s all definitely weird as hell. My wife showed me there is some indication that the released photo of him was AI manipulated earlier today, which reminds me I gotta vet that because she saw it on instagram which is full of bullshit.
There’s also no need hurry if he’a already dead.
I feel like the headline was written weeks ago and they just left it after the disappointing following up in the body.
“Said in a statement” means someone else wrote and delivered it.
Still waiting on proof of life… Bashear needs to go ahead and declare the seat abandoned and schedule the special election.
It’s Beshear*, the sheriffs of each county have to be notified 63 days before the election, McConnell’s seat is already being voted on this November (requiring essentially parallel campaigns), and most importantly, Beshear can only call a special election if the seat is certified vacant – i.e., in this case, if McConnell is declared legally dead or e.g. provably in a severe disabling condition. Notably, a vacancy for senator, governor, etc. aren’t formally defined, but we can turn to candidacies:
If a vacancy occurs in the nomination of an unopposed candidate or in a nomination made by the primary […] because of death or severe disabling condition which arose after the nomination, the governing authority of the party may provide for filling the vacancy, but only following certification to the governing authority, by the Secretary of State [edit: notably, the incumbent SoS is a Republican], that a vacancy exists for a reason specified in this subsection. When such a nomination has been made, the certificate of nomination shall be signed by the chair and secretary of the governing authority of the party making it, and shall be filed in the same manner as certificates of nomination at a primary.
So probably a very similar process for senator: you’d need to actually certify that McConnell is dead or in such a severe, debilitating condition (not just temporary) that he cannot act as a senator.
And of course that would take longer than we’ve got…
Unless he shows up in person to do his job, we can assume that every thing posted is just a bad fake created by his staff.
A simple fall that does not cause other issues shouldn’t result in a 6 week hospitalization. Even at his age if he was otherwise ok he would have already been discharged.
Three more weeks before his corpse begins to smell too strong for them to hide
My grandma fell and she was never independent again. Granted she lived alone and was on the ground for 8+ hours before someone found her and she was diabetic so she was in a near coma from low blood sugar. I could believe it in the right circumstances.
Note: all we know is she fell probably first thing in the morning, leaving the bathroom. She left her life alert dongle on the bedside table, so that was super helpful. It wasn’t until that evening, when no one could get a hold of her, that a relative went by and found her. She spent 3+ weeks in the hospital and several more weeks in a rehab facility. APS would not release her until she had assisted living lined up.
Falls can be devastating for 84 year old people.
sure. but he was receiving CPR while being loaded in ambulance.
Lack of breathing will more often than not cause a fall, I think.
Until the Governor gets to visit in person and corroborate that McConnell can still serve, it’s all yet more lies by the Republicans.
This is a foundational reason we need to punish lying by politicians across the board. Even the basics of daily operations, identity, and even the existence of the politicians themselves becomes suspect.
I wish they would’ve had Japan’s #1 heart surgeon work on him.
STEADY HANDS
“Statement”.
He didn’t say anything. Someone put out a statement and the media takes these proven liars as truth
My disappointment is immeasurable.
Npr is getting worse every year reporting trash like this.
They run ALS and perform CPR for a fall?
I mean, possibly? A fall from tripping over your coffee table leg? Probably not. A fall from the roof of you house? Probably. A fall down a flight of stairs for an 84 year old? Probably.
So considering his health is in no danger whatsoever (if you believe the “statement”), why hasn’t he shown up for work, or communicated with anyone in the last month?
