McConnell appears to freeze while speaking with reporters in Kentucky

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared to freeze for about 30 seconds on Wednesday while speaking with reporters after a speech in Covington, Kentucky.

The incident is similar to an episode McConnell experienced at the US Capitol late last month and is likely to raise additional questions about the fitness of the 81-year-old to lead the Senate Republican caucus.

Wednesday’s episode occurred when a reporter asked the Republican leader if he was planning to run for reelection in 2026. McConnell had to ask him to repeat the question several times, chuckled for a moment, and then paused.

Someone at his side then asked him, “Did you hear the question, senator, running for reelection in 2026?” McConnell did not respond.

Article includes video of the incident.

Gradually_Adjusting,
@Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world avatar

The mummy’s curse will never release him

Fapper_McFapper,

But, but he is the mummy.

snooggums,
snooggums avatar

That's why it is his curse!

afraid_of_zombies,

Satan keeps sending him back. He doesn’t want him either. Also he feels he has done his part by taking Pat Robertson a few months ago.

Gradually_Adjusting,
@Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world avatar

Tough noogies. If Satan doesn’t like the gig then he knows what he’s got to do about that touchy asshole boss of his. Tell him to take the necrotizing turkey neck or else.

empireOfLove,

Sounds kind of like when my maternal grandma had a series of micro strokes for a few months before having the Big One.

Time to retire, Mitch. For both our sakes.

dhork,

Maybe Mitch and Dianne can agree to retire at the same time

MelodiousFunk,
MelodiousFunk avatar

"Okay, fine. On three... One... Two... ... ... ... ..."

four hours later, we are still not sure if they're waiting for the other to blink, have bluescreened, or both

Kraven_the_Hunter,

A little ditty about Mitch and Diane…

AbouBenAdhem, (edited )

Oh yeah, their terms go on…
Long after their cognitive functions are gone.

kescusay,
@kescusay@lemmy.world avatar

Jesus, that’s some dark humor there. Hilarious, but dark.

Bdtrngl,

Dark humor or sad truth?

SeedyOne,

Yes.

gibmiser,

A+

Gork,

I’m surprised Dianne Feinstein isn’t running again. I thought she would have been stubborn enough to try to stay in office well into her 90s until she achieves lichdom just to troll us.

Hoomod,

She is currently 90, and her term isn’t up until 2024. Apparently she isn’t running again, but she might think she is…

hydrospanner,

I feel at this point it’s gotta be ego.

Like…you have so much power that you don’t even sweat elections.

Maybe it’d be a better course to work with your party, find a worthy successor that you agree on and start preparing the way for them.

Public functions, etc. get them in the spotlight. Then when the time comes, go out on the campaign trail with them, endorse them, tell your loyal base that the new person will now carry the torch.

If you pick the right person, in a state that’s so consistently supported you, it shouldn’t be too too difficult.

Not doing it this way is the elected position equivalent of RGB refusing to retire in the Obama administration and fucking the very SCOTUS (and American people) she claimed to be wanting to serve. Now she’s going to forever have the tainted legacy of having great views, but being too proud to do the sensible thing, and choosing her own ego over her ideals.

flipht,

Its either happening frequently and just happens to have been caught on camera twice, or it could instead be related to hearing well enough to understand.

My grandparents were like this. Even if they could hear you, a lot of times it seemed out of context to them because they missed some other important piece.

merc,

Yeah, that’s not a hearing issue. I’ve seen people with hearing issues who zone out because they can’t hear / follow the conversation. But, they’re not at a podium at the time. When that happens they know they can just back out of the conversation and hang out until the conversation is over, or the meal is over, or whatever.

When you’re at the podium you know you’re the focus of attention and need to respond. You can’t just stand there with a blank look. That looked more like a stroke or a seizure than a lack of hearing.

grabyourmotherskeys,

The people handling him knew exactly what was going on there. This happens all the time, I’m guessing.

Source: youngest grandchild of a huge family.

jordanlund,

You’d think if it were a hearing issue he would just say “Could you repeat the question?” and not stand there like a deer in headlights.

🦌💡💡

KoboldCoterie,
@KoboldCoterie@pawb.social avatar

He did ask them to repeat the question, several times, before just standing there blankly.

captainlezbian,

Yeah idk if auditory processing goes with age but you can also have delays from that.

That said if this were that you’d think he’d get hearing aids after the last one

Spendrill,

Schrödinger’s McConnell: competent enough to lead the Republicans in Senate, not competent enough to answer questions about Trump under oath.

SatanicNotMessianic,

Senators are among the most powerful politicians in the US, as well as on the planet, and they know it. They don’t stand there befuddled because they’re socially awkward. If they’re befuddled, it’s because they’re befuddled.

We are seeing the human version of the Mac’s spinning beach ball. I have a cat with the same problem. I would not nominate her for a seat in the Senate.

cassetti,

Mitch has had a series of bad falls over the past year, this isn't just poor hearing. Something else is going on and this is elderly abuse keeping him in office

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66320588

hypelightfly,

I'm pretty sure that time was in 1984.

DragonTypeWyvern,

Nah.

Have him die as he lived, peddling lies and attacking democracy.

MrsDoyle,

My sister’s absence seizures turned out to be stage four brain cancer. I know he’s an arsehole, but doesn’t he have anyone looking out for him? At all? He needs help.

rambaroo,

Did you see the look on that lady’s face? She wasn’t even worried, she was annoyed. That’s the world Republicans want to create for everyone. A Russia-like society where no one gives a fuck about anyone outside their immediate family, because it makes people much easier to control.

MrsDoyle,

Ugh yes. It was like her gadget had malfunctioned, AGAIN.

Touching_Grass,

Silly, he’s still young for a senator

toxicbubble,

he’s set for a presidential run soon 😂😭

agent_flounder,

All these old fossils need to GTFO. Him, Feinstein, all of em.

But McConnell in particular has royally fucked this country. No member of Congress should have that much power. But he used it quite effectively for his own ends. So fuck him

knobbysideup,

I’m good with him staying on in a state where he can’t fuck us over more. My worry is who then pulls the puppet strings.

Sharkwellington,

I kind of hope he doesn’t retire and goes out in an explosion of bodily fluid on live TV. What a show that would be.

Dr_Chocolate,

Glitch McConnell.

Scumguzzler,

I hope he's dying.

Wussy,

Pretty sure he died years ago.

Cheems,
@Cheems@lemmy.world avatar

He was replaced by three snakes in a suit and they are old enough now to have mini strokes

DoucheBagMcSwag,

Tots and pears

Cold_Brew_Enema,

Technically we are all dying

donuts,
donuts avatar

Nothing to see here folks, just another little Mitch Glitch.

StalinIsMaiWaifu,
@StalinIsMaiWaifu@lemmygrad.ml avatar

I think his batteries are getting low

JuzoInui,

Someone get Fix It Felix on the horn, stat!!!

Jarmer,

Ohhhhh how I do enjoy seeing this!!! It does bring a smile to my face :) This horrifying creature doesn’t deserve any semblance of caring or empathy because it’s very simple: he’s not a human being. He’s some kind of monstrosity birthed from some demon world and accidentally wound up here on earth.

ArugulaZ,
ArugulaZ avatar

AGAIN?

deconstruct,

Everyone should watch the video. McConnell needs to retire.

captainlezbian,

Do we need to watch if we’ve thought that since he began his crusade on democracy

Wussy,

Glitch McConnell is at it again!

TokenBoomer,

That made me laugh, thanks

InvaderDJ,

Everyone in elected office over the age of 65 should be forced to retire. At best, they’ve done their duty and deserve to rest and enjoy the fruits of their labor. At worst, they’re nonfunctional skeletons that don’t even have skin in the game when it comes to government.

JustZ,

Dumb take.

CaptainAniki,

Dumb reply.

Zero,
@Zero@ezekielrage.com avatar

I bet you can’t think of a single counter point.

TheBenCommandments,
@TheBenCommandments@infosec.pub avatar

The most impactful reason for there being an upper limit on age for representatives is that they literally don’t have a personal stake in the future. Even if they have kids or whatever other platitudes they may try to push, obviously there are people making decisions now that are going to have mortal fallout for the next generation that they don’t give a shit about if they’re making money.

Zippy,

How would that be democratic? The vote is the way to retire someone and if you think he can’t do the job, don’t vote for him.

InvaderDJ,

How is it democratic that you have to be 35 and a natural born citizen to be elected president? It may take a Constitutional amendment just like that, but I think it is a good idea regardless.

Zippy,

I don’t. Should be any age or person as well. Few people would have the experience by that age so likely would make no difference lowering the age but regardless it should be 18 or just removed entirely.

kescusay, (edited )
@kescusay@lemmy.world avatar

That is hard to watch. I hate his guts and everything he’s done and stood for in politics, but it’s still rough to watch a man just fade away like that.

He needs to retire and stop clinging desperately to power. The stress of it alone is probably literally killing him.

Edit: Just so we’re clear, here, I’m not offering him sympathy. I have none to give for a monster like Mitch McConnell. The man has done enormous damage to the country, and people like him are why I worry about the future for my kids (both LGBTQ+).

I was only trying to express that on a gut level, it’s still unpleasant to see someone basically drain away like that.

afraid_of_zombies,

Umm what stress? No really I am asking. There is no realistic scenario where he will have to choose between medicine or food, face homelessness, have his career destroyed, or really any major setbacks. Also he is probably a psychopath so even if some relative of his gets killed it isn’t going to impact him.

I am a regular middle class family man. It would take nearly nothing to destroy everything I have. One dark spot on an x-ray, one bad car accident, me and my wife both losing our jobs at once, a kitchen fire. The Turtle’s wealth, pension, power, and lack of emotional attachments means he is shielded from everything. How can someone who can’t lose anything be worried about anything?

The very worst thing that could happen to him is his party doesn’t have as much power. Which isn’t even really a thing on him, it is on the vile ideas that he has.

PP_BOY_,
@PP_BOY_@lemmy.world avatar

Um do you say the same thing about artists and celebrities who experience depression or commit suicide from the stress? I don’t disagree with Moscow Mitch being a motherfucker or being undeserving of sympathy, but your comment is equally as brain dead. Constant moving around, traveling, talking to people who (rightfully) are trying to attack you, etc. produces stress on the body.

Nurse_Robot,

Not all stress is created equally. Consider Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Navarian,

Exactly this ^

The insane vitriol of some people on here, wishing death to this man, rejoicing in very obvious cognitive decline, it’s harrowing.

The policy this man has supported and even pioneered is horrific, and frankly he should never have been allowed to push that shit nor would I ever support it, but you can bet your fucking ass I’m not going to be sat here laughing about an old man in clear mental distress or wishing death on him, because I’m not a piece of shit and I actually have some form of morality.

captainlezbian,

I want him to stop hurting people. If that means voluntary retirement that’s cool. If it means dropping dead or becoming too disabled to continue that’s still preferable to him continuing to hurt people. I wish him a long retirement, specifically I hope it’s the rest of his life long.

SmoothIsFast,

Na I hope he has a very painful and suffering filled decline full of mockery so shitstains like him understand they will reap what they sow. Treat them like anything other than that and you create a system that is ripe for abuse as we see today. Enough following the bullshit rules of power that allow corrupt greedy narcissists to remain in power because we should treat them kindly even though they are not treating others the same. That just rewards corruption and abuses of power, and I do not fuck with fascists.

dual_sport_dork,
@dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world avatar

Don’t worry, though, if the tables were turned Mitch himself would gladly cackle to himself knowing that some policy he enacted resulted in your suffering, so long as it earned him a buck in the process.

Fuck him. Right in the ear. With a pineapple. On a drill.

SmoothIsFast,

Honestly fuck the dude above acting like it’s some superior morals to coddle a scumbag. That’s how you reinforce their behavior and teach generations that being a corrupt piece of shit has no downsides, as everyone has to be nice to them anyway. It’s a lie that keeps masses from revolting against corrupt politicians/rulers/governments etc. Fuck that shit let’s remind those at the top its us at the bottom who support their little lavish lifestyles and can take it away in a damn instance.

afraid_of_zombies,

Must be nice on that high horse.

TheMauveAvenger,

Utilitarian moral theory is an entire field of ethical philosophy, even if you don’t agree with it. Someone who believes strongly in this could argue that we should have actually killed Mitch decades ago to prevent all of the pain, suffering, and death that he has wrought on this world.

I think what you meant to say is that you have some form of feeling morally superior.

Cylusthevirus,
Cylusthevirus avatar

There is nothing utilitarian about taking ghoulish delight in the suffering of an evil old man.

He's falling apart and you're enjoying it because you hate him. At least be honest with yourself.

afraid_of_zombies,

I don’t believe in utilitarian morality. They have no means to calculate, never solved the utility monster problem, it is a single value virtue system, and it ignores how humans work. Especially the last point, if morality doesn’t help humans live a better life it serves no purpose.

Intralexical,

Not to mention that the first example that people always go to when trying to explain utilitarianism is always to use it to justify setting a precedent of murder, as long as doing so might feasibly produce benefits for somebody else in the future.

Plus the future is never certain, while the present is arguably more real in any moment. Consequentialist frameworks in general are basically betting away guaranteed morality in the present in exchange for possible/imagined gains in the future.

Personally I’ve also found that because everything is just so complicated, depending on what axioms you start with in a consequentialist perspective, you can also not only justify but make it compulsory to do literally any awful and disastrous things both to yourself and to other people.

(Plus you necessarily end up having to introduce some sort of a concept of a “causal event horizon”— How far forwards into the future you are willing and able to try to predict events in order to evaluate the consequences of actions— If you actually try to apply and use utilitarianism or any consequentialist framework— Which means that your ethics change depending on your computing power, plus you’re in constant and actually agonising pain because having to always try as hard as you can to feel the consequences of future outcomes as far in advance as possible is fucking excruciating. … or maybe that was a specific situation (but still, what use is ethics if it just mutilates you as soon as difficult questions need to be asked?))

Utilitarianism: The preferred ethical system for edgy youth, sheltered academics, idealistic extremists, and B-movie villains since the 19th century! …I say this having previously positioned myself somewhere between those categories.

I do tend to think deontology is just delusion, and virtue is just ego, though— … Human “philosophy”, and academics: Maybe some dead old dudes being paid by Kings and Churches to sit around doing nothing but think weren’t actually the best qualified to empathise with how people actually live, and understand what is the right and wrong way to do it— The incentives for sounding good in a clean and neat published paper can hardly be expected to align with the incentives of actually being applicable to the messiness of reality, can they?

Just don’t hurt people, Ffs— (And define “hurt” rigorously in terms of game theory and preserved options for autonomous constructive personal growth and equitable power dynamics, epistemology and the preservation of knowledge and feeling plus metaphysics and the preservation of identity and self, and thermodynamics and the avoidance of unconsensual entropification, if you need to)— just don’t hurt people; it shouldn’t be that complicated…

Intralexical,

The same utilitarian ends could have been reached, and should have been reached, in any one of thousands of different ways, years ago, that wouldn’t require this.

Fuck the ghoul and all he’s done. But just think of the level of political degeneration required to get to the point where a malicious actor gradually being paralyzed by illness in public is your most feasible option for resolving a political problem. I can understand why you would cheer for this, but the reminder that your country is even in such a situation that cheering for it makes any sense at all is itself something that I find horrifying.

Besides, the entire point of utilitarianism is to evaluate possibilities dispassionately, and choose what results in the most useful outcome and end state. Like the other commenter said, “There is nothing utilitarian about taking ghoulish delight in the suffering of an evil old man”— The entire concept of evil is a more deontological or virtue-based construct— He’s on his way out, great, so celebrate the fact that he’s no longer causing harm, but once he’s gone, he actually doesn’t matter anymore— Contain the damage, tunc damnatio memoriae.

Idk. I feel for y’all, I guess. In a well-functioning democracy, this should have probably been resolved almost an entire generation ago, and you should barely even have any reason to know his name anymore. Everything about this situation is horrifying, from what he’s done to what’s happening to him now to the fact that he even still matters at all in the first place.

SmoothIsFast,

For fucks sake, it’s not some superior morals to allow a corrupt abuser to die or suffer for the agony they caused. It’s a lie to keep a power systems masses docile and in check. It’s even worse morals to know what this guy does and hope for the best for him instead of him dropping dead. Fuck that, and fuck all this shit that allows corruption to remain unfettered because oh we need to be kind to the fascist narcissistic egotists or what we have to deal with them like we always have. You should be aware of how they act and be ready to address that shit from day one when it’s called out. We know we need chemo to kill a tumor why the fuck are we acting like we should be feeding it and nurturing these shit stains who are actively cannibalizing the human races ability to survive over greed. Cut the tumor out or fucking irradiate it to death. Any fucking fascist peice of shit should be getting the same treatment. You don’t want to be mocked and laughed at as you die in old age? Well than start by giving a fuck about others first and maybe we will return the favor. I treat others based on how they treat others, fuck around like a shit stain get laughed at and paraded around like the shit stain you are.

Talkurt,

I feel the same. Terrible human being. But taking joy in the suffering of others is not something I will do.

CaptainAniki,

That’s ok, wussy, I’ll hate enough for the both of you losers.

Chthonic,

Don’t worry I’ll have your share, get fucked Mitch.

I know McConnell is just a lightning rod for hate for the GOP and as soon as he’s gone some other amoral, sociopathic mercenary will take his place, but damn if he’s not just the worst.

CADmonkey,

Convince me that’s a human being.

afraid_of_zombies,

Don’t worry, I will take enough joy for us both. There is no hell, he is going to the same dirt we all are. If I want to feel a bit glad that one less terrible human is around causing problems I won’t feel bad about about feeling bad. Humanity as a whole will be better off the faster he dies. My feelings won’t change when that event happens and express an honest evaluation of the situation.

Every single teenager girl in America trying to abort her incest fetus with a metal hanger is because of that fucker.

DoucheBagMcSwag, (edited )

“Your account has been suspended for posting violent content. The suspension —-“

Just kidding, this isn’t Reddit

agent_flounder,

Whether he clings to power and dies from stress is kind of his decision.

I don’t enjoy seeing a person, even him, suffering illness. Even as much as I despise that horrible piece of shit.

DoucheBagMcSwag, (edited )

He lost all potential sympathy from me when he denied Garland and rammed in Barett during an election year before RBG was fucking cold in the ground. That decision and denial of representation has made shockwaves of regression in terms of civil rights, voting rights, women’s bodily autonomy and LGBTQ rights …and that’s what we have gone backward in…so far (birth control and gay marriage being illegal again is coming) and we will feel these effects for several decades way after he’s gone.

tots and fucking pears, goddamn ghoul.

Blackbeard,
@Blackbeard@lemmy.world avatar

Yup. SCOTUS is eternally corrupted thanks almost exclusively to one man, and the sooner he’s worm food the better. Hell, even the fucking worms will gag on his bones.

theodewere,
theodewere avatar

feel that Mitch? that's the Devil's hands on your ass, boy.. oh yes it is..

NatakuNox,
@NatakuNox@lemmy.world avatar

Yup the devil is about to get all up in those cheeks buddy boy.

Sterile_Technique,
@Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world avatar

May he receive thoughts and prayers. And no other form of healthcare or support.

The world will become a slightly better place when he finally dies.

TokenBoomer,

Answer the question Mitch! Are you running for re-election? Damnit!

takeda,

Have you tried to turn him off and on again?

ZagamTheVile,

Big deal. I don’t like to talk when I shit either.

Beardedsausag3,
Beardedsausag3 avatar

Lmao that made me laugh way too much

JustZ,

Heyooo.

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