Trump Breaks Silence on McConnell's Health, Says What Must Happen Now
Former President Donald Trump sat down for an interview with Breitbart News reporter Matt Boyle on Sunday, where he spoke about Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s recent incident at the podium where he seemed to have frozen up briefly.
“Good afternoon, everyone. We’re on a path to finishing the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) this week, there’s been good bipartisan cooperation and a string of … ” McConnell told reporters Wednesday, before drifting off into space, as reported by Fox News.
“You OK, Mitch?” Wyoming Republican Sen. John Barrasso asked. “Is there anything else you want to say or should we just go back to your office?”
🚨BREAKING: Mitch McConnell freezes up at a press conference. Reason unknown.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 26, 2023
McConnell was then sidelined from the podium as South Dakota Republican Sen. John Thune addressed reporters.
However, this is not the first time the minority leader has been the subject of what could be described as a health issue.
Earlier this month, McConnell “face-planted” headfirst while walking down the stairs of an airplane at Reagan National Airport outside of Washington, D.C, according to NBC News.
McConnell has also had to use wheelchairs to travel around the airport, a source told NBC News.
Trump, when asked if he had seen video of McConnell freezing up, said, “I did,” according to Breitbart News.
He said it was time for McConnell to step down from the post, according to Breitbart, and that it’s time for the GOP to find a new leader in the Senate.
“We have to have that,” Trump said, according to Breitbart. “No, we have to have that. We have some people in the Senate that are fantastic and would be great at that position.”
The former president described McConnell’s incident as “sad” during his interview with Breitbart News, but also touched on the minority leader’s efforts in pushing President Joe Biden’s agenda, including his support of racking up spending in the Senate to advance legislation during the first two years of Biden’s presidency, while Democrats controlled both houses of Congress.
During his first two years, as Breitbart News indicated, Biden needed a total of just 10 Republican senators to side with Democrats in order to advance legislation.
McConnell was one of those 10.
Notably, in December 2022, McConnell was one of 18 Republican senators who sided with Democrats in passing a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill.
Exclusive – Donald Trump: Mitch McConnell Health Problems ‘Sad,’ He Should Step Down pic.twitter.com/Ibw1JZuPJd
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) July 30, 2023
“I thought it was sad,” Trump said, referring to McConnell’s incident. “At the same time, I think it’s a shame he went so far out to give Green New Deal money to Biden and Democrats.”
“He got 10 people to vote because they needed 10 people, and he got 10 people to vote on numerous occasions for trillions of dollars. I think that’s a shame. But that was too bad,” he added.
“That was a sad thing to see. He had a bad fall, I guess, and probably an after-effect of that. But it was also sad that he gave trillions and trillions and trillions of dollars to the Democrats to waste on the Green New Deal, destroying our oceans and destroying our great, beautiful vistas and plains all over our country with windmills that are very expensive energy. So that’s a very sad thing also,” he continued.
Trump was also asked who he thinks could be a better Senate leader than McConnell.
The former president noted that he has “a lot of great relationships,” but did not specify exactly who could serve as McConnell’s replacement.
“I have a lot of great relationships with the Senate and with the House — probably with the House even more so,” Trump said.
“The House, on the impeachment hoax, they voted unanimous — I think it was 196 to nothing, the Republicans were. Jim Jordan and all of the people — I think Jamie Comer is doing a great job. Jim Jordan,” The former president added.
“You have a lot of people in the House doing a great job. Matt Gaetz is doing really well. He’s a tough cookie and he’s doing really well. Marjorie Taylor Greene has done really, really well. A lot of people like what she has to say — a lot of people,” he continued.
CORRECTION, July 31, 2023: Sen. John Barrasso serves the people of Wyoming. An earlier version of this article said he was a Wisconsin senator.
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