Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) appeared confused before freezing once again in front of a gaggle of reporters Wednesday.
NBC News’ Ryan Nobles described the scene.
“Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared to freeze again while taking questions from reporters in Covington, KY. McConnell didn’t respond to a question on re-election. He had to be told the question by an aide. He did not respond for more than 30 secs,” Nobles wrote. “At one point the aide asked the reporters for a minute.. McConnell then said ‘Ok’ and took two more questions. both of which had to be repeated to him by the aide.”
Nobles explained that the presser followed a long speech, after which McConnell had taken questions “without any trouble.”
The incident happened while White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre was taking reporter questions in Washington. When asked about McConnell’s episode, Jean-Pierre said she hadn’t spoken to the president and didn’t know if he was aware of the situation. She then added, “Clearly, we wish him well, a speedy recovery.”
President Joe Biden ended his press conference on Hurricane Idalia by saying he would get in touch with “friend” McConnell.
“By the way, I just heard literally coming out and Mitch is a friend, as you know, not a joke. Well, you know, people don’t believe that’s the case, but we have
Stephanie Myers with One America News tweeted an update she received from a McConnell aid.
“An aide to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says he felt “momentarily lightheaded” and paused during today’s press conference in Kentucky. The aide says, “while McConnell feels fine, he will be consulting a physician prior to his next event.”
McConnell first froze up during a Capitol Hill press conference in July but was able to recover and return to the podium to finish answering questions. Earlier in the year, McConnell suffered a concussion when he fell at a D.C. hotel.
Watch the clip above via WLWT5 in Kentucky.