In the aftermath of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s freeze-up at a Wednesday news conference, a new report emerged of an incident previously kept quiet.
McConnell, who is 81, fell after he tripped while getting off a plane at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on July 14, according to NBC, which cited unnamed sources who revealed the incident.
McConnell, 81, was not seriously hurt. He was disembarking after the flight had been canceled after passengers were on board. NBC said a passenger on the plane who did not witness the incident spoke to a passenger who helped the Kentucky Republican.
NBC reported that McConnell, who had polio as a child, uses a wheelchair in airports, citing “a source familiar with his practices.”
In March, McConnell sustained a concussion and cracked a rib after a fall.
“He’s definitely slower with his gait,” a Republican senator whose name was withheld told NBC.
“He doesn’t address it,” the senator said, referring to McConnell’s health issues.
On Wednesday, McConnell froze in mid-sentence while speaking to reporters, according to The Washington Post.
“We’ve had good bipartisan cooperation and a string of … ” McConnell said, before freezing and remaining silent for a lengthy period.
Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming finally stepped forward and asked him quietly, “Do you want to say anything else to the press?” McConnell did not reply.
“I’ll take him back,” Barrasso said to the GOP senators gathered to speak to the media.
McConnell returned to the gathering after a few minutes to take questions, brushing off the ones about his health with the comment, “I’m fine.”
“He felt lightheaded and stepped away for a moment. He came back to handle Q and A,” an aide whose name was not used by the Post said.
McConnell said President Joe Biden called him later.
“Well, the president called to check on me. I told him I got sandbagged,” McConnell said, an apparent reference to Biden’s accident at the Air Force Academy in June, in which he tripped on a sandbag and fell.
Dr. Lee Schwamm, a neurologist and stroke expert at Yale, said what’s known as a transient ischemic attack — a very tiny form of stroke — could have caused the incident, according to The New York Times.
“If I were his doctor or was in that audience, I would have recommended he go to the emergency room immediately,” Schwamm said.
Transient ischemic attacks last five to 10 minutes and take place when a blockage temporarily stops blood flow to the brain, he explained.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.