Fact check: Trump, other GOP leaders called for McConnell to step down after freezes
The claim: No one called for McConnell to step down after freezing on camera
A July 5 Instagram post from the liberal group Occupy Democrats includes two pictures of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell standing behind a podium.
“Reminder that Mitch McConnell literally froze, on camera, unable to speak, twice, and no one asked him to step down,” says on-screen text included in the post.
It was liked more than 35,000 times in six days. Other versions of the claim spread widely on Facebook and X, formerly Twitter.
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Marjorie Taylor Greene said McConnell 'not fit for office'
McConnell, who is 82, abruptly stopped speaking and stood in silence for several moments while addressing reporters twice in the summer of 2023. His office later released a physician's letter saying there was “no evidence” that the episodes were caused by a stroke or seizure disorder, The Associated Press reported.
The Occupy Democrats' claim came after President Joe Biden similarly froze during a debate with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in June. There have been numerous calls since then for Biden to end his reelection bid.
But it’s not true that there were no calls for McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, to step down in 2023.
Trump said in a Breitbart News interview, for example, that Republicans “have to have” a different Senate leader after the incidents.
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia posted a clip of McConnell’s second freeze on X, saying he and other elected officials were “not fit for office, and it’s time to be serious about it.”
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There were also calls to step down from McConnell’s home state of Kentucky.
The senator was heckled with chants to retire during an August speech in Fancy Farm, Ky., and the chair of the Jessamine County Republican Party told The Washington Post that his chapter believed McConnell should leave his leadership role after his second freezing episode later that month.
Voices in conservative media echoed those calls.
Political commentator Bill O’Reilly said McConnell should “resign tomorrow” in an August interview with NewsNation, for instance, and the editorial board of National Review wrote that though McConnell had a “long, impressive run,” he needed to “step aside from leadership.”
McConnell announced in February that he would step down as minority leader in November.
USA TODAY has debunked an array of claims from Occupy Democrats, including false assertions that Trump and his team claimed there were 35,000 attendees at his May 23 rally in the Bronx, that Trump told Time Magazine he’d force government monitoring on “every pregnant woman” if reelected, and that 52 of 53 Republican senators voted to let Trump block a Ukraine arms sale in 2020.
USA TODAY reached out to several users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Check Your Fact also debunked the claim.
Our rating: False
Numerous Republican leaders, including Trump, said McConnell should step down after he froze while talking to reporters twice in 2023.
Our fact-check sources:
USA TODAY, Aug. 7, 2023, 'Retire': Mitch McConnell booed, heckled during speech in Kentucky after health scare
National Review, Aug. 31, 2023, Mitch McConnell Needs to Step Aside
NewsNation, Aug. 31, 2023, Mitch McConnell should resign ‘tomorrow,’ Bill O’Reilly says
The Washington Post, Aug. 31, 2023, McConnell tries to tamp down health concerns after second incident
Marjorie Taylor Greene, Aug. 30, 2023, X post
Breitbart News, July 30, 2023, Exclusive video – Trump: McConnell Health Problems ‘Sad,’ He Should Step Down as ‘We Have to Have’ New GOP Leader in Senate
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Some in GOP urged McConnell to step down after freezing
