McConnell Fell Multiple Times This Year: Sources

According to multiple sources with firsthand knowledge, the health of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) may be even more precarious behind the scenes.

McConnell, 81, experienced some sort of incident during a routine press conference Wednesday alongside several of his Republican Senate colleagues.

The Kentucky Republican, who has deftly led GOP maneuvering on Capitol Hill to thwart Democrats for decades, froze while addressing reporters. From defeating then-President Obama in the Merrick Garland Supreme Court nomination battle to expediting the approval of a record number of conservative judges under then-President Trump, his record speaks for itself.

Even if the mutual animus between himself and Trump has caused his standing with the GOP base to crater to an all-time low.

Regardless, the cool, calculating politician’s normally clear speech devolved into indecipherable mumblings before he stopped talking altogether before a sea of cameras.

After being unable to resume speaking, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) escorted the elder statesmen to a side room. (RELATED: Prominent Republican Rushed To Hospital)

While he joked with reporters after reemerging, McConnell’s remarks were brief and his demeanor seemed questionable.

Now, CNN reports, that after suffering a concussion from a fall in March, that McConnell has endured other falls.

CNN’s Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju explains:

The first known time, in February, occurred in Finland when McConnell and a US delegation met with the Finnish president in Helsinki, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

As he got out of his car on a snowy day and walked towards his meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, the GOP leader tripped and fell, the sources said of the incident which hasn’t been previously reported. He dusted himself off and continued on with the meeting.

North Carolina Sen. Ted Budd (R), noted the icy conditions in Helsinki that day. While he said “All of us are concerned,” presumably about the Republican senate leader’s health, the fall that day could’ve happened to anyone.

The fall in Helsinki occurred days before McConnell’s injuries at the Waldor Astoria hotel in Washington, D.C., where he slammed his head and broke multiple ribs. The injuries required a hospital stay of several days followed extensive physical therapy. The entire process kept the minority leader off of Capitol Hill for nearly six weeks – leading to speculation he wouldn’t return. (RELATED: McConnell Exacts Revenge On Senators Who Plotted Against Him)

Raju adds that another unreported fall occurred earlier this month:

And just this month at Reagan National Airport in Washington, McConnell was getting off the plane when he tripped and fell, a source familiar with this incident said. He returned to the Capitol later that day. NBC reported on the fall at the airport earlier on Wednesday.

McConnell’s office has decline to respond to request for comments on the incidents. The senator himself remains tight-lipped about why he froze up at yesterday’s press conference.

An aide merely said he was feeling light-headed.

Having survived polio as a child, Sen. McConnell has walked with a slight limp for most of his life. He often needs assistance when navigating stairwells at the Capitol, climbing them one at a time.

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