# Mitch McConnell falls twice in Capitol **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 6, 2025, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937 "2025-02-06T00:54:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/322 "2026-07-13T00:43:10Z")
Honestly, Dopers, I’ve seen 9/11 truthers and Kennedy assassination buffs that were more open to having their views challenged than some of us. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/323 "2026-07-13T00:47:55Z")
In case my post wasn’t clear, I’m 100% convinced it’s not a conspiracy. I just thought the paper was a funny touch, seemed very “hostage proof of life” to me, and then I looked closely at the letters and was surprised. The chance that it’s not real approaches zero: there’s no long term advantage at all to anyone to faking this. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/324 "2026-07-13T01:12:26Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Why is he wearing street clothes(look at his pants) in the hospital? Because he’s not in the hospital, he’s in rehab. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/325 "2026-07-13T01:17:31Z")
Four weeks in hospital with no public statement after a fall is ridiculous, and if I were his constituent, I’d be furious. Even if you factor in the (presumably subsequent) pneumonia, the lack of communication from someone who is supposed to be working for the public is still unreasonable. Either there’s some dark conspiracy, which is unlikely, or he doesn’t care much anymore, which is possible, or he was too out of it to make a statement and nobody else dared to do so on his behalf. That seems the most likely to me: he was seriously ill, and nobody wanted to say anything until he was recovered enough to make the statement himself, or dead enough that they had to. He may well have primed his staff to say nothing in such situations; if he’s anything like my father, who is the same age, he would assume that anything that happens to him at age 84 will be minor and well within his control. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/326 "2026-07-13T01:18:04Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I have doubts. That article was from CNN, not FOX. These weird conspiracy theories are getting out of hand. We so deeply distrust anything coming from the Republicans because the leader of the party is an inverterate liar whom they enable either by ignoring what he says or openly supporting them. I’m not surprised we’re seeing a weird proliferation of conspiracy beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/327 "2026-07-13T01:20:23Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Just as an example, look at the number of lines in the second paragraph, 3 in the original, 6 in the . I see 3 lines in the second paragraph of the picture McConnell published. You are looking at the third paragraph and seeing the first two as one. Because it’s a garbage pic. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/328 "2026-07-13T01:25:23Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Why is he wearing street clothes(look at his pants) in the hospital? When I spent a week in the hospital a few years ago they let me wear street clothes once I was out of the ICU. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/329 "2026-07-13T01:38:55Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > We so deeply distrust anything coming from the Republicans because the leader of the party is an inverterate liar whom they enable either by ignoring what he says or openly supporting them. I’m not surprised we’re seeing a weird proliferation of conspiracy beliefs. I don’t really mean to nitpick, but I first read that misspell as invertebrate. Nonsense, turtles certainly have vertebrae. By the way, the Times reported the story straight and raised no doubt. I am sure they would have vetted that photo carefully. But, as with Thomas Kean, why all the secrecy? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/330 "2026-07-13T02:01:33Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > By the way, the Times reported the story straight and raised no doubt. I am sure they would have vetted that photo carefully. CNN also says that it’s Sunday’s sports section from the _Washington Post_. > **[McConnell says hospitalization was due to a fall | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/12/politics/mitch-mcconnell-hospital-announcement)** > > Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on Sunday announced, after weeks of speculation, that he had a fall last month that landed him in the hospital. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/331 "2026-07-13T02:07:26Z")
If you look closely at the photograph, you can see that they’ve sewn McConnell’s head onto Lindsay Graham’s body. It’s in the pixels. Wake up sheeple! ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/332 "2026-07-13T02:09:37Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Four weeks in hospital with no public statement after a fall is ridiculous, and if I were his constituent, I’d be furious. I wish him good health, but if my GOP U.S. Senator David McCormick needs to take off a few months for private reasons, fine with me. Seriously, a governor or president should be forthcoming on health due to their executive responsibilities. But a member of a legislature has no such responsibility I can see. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/333 "2026-07-13T02:12:34Z")
Are you kidding? To be clear: if they need time off for their health, they should take it, same as anyone else. They don’t owe their constituents the details, as they have as much right to privacy as anyone. But after a few days away, they SHOULD communicate that they are away for health reasons, and who is looking after the job in the meantime. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/334 "2026-07-13T02:19:13Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > They don’t owe their constituents the details, as they have as much right to privacy as anyone. But after a few days away, they SHOULD communicate that they are away for health reasons, and who is looking after the job in the meantime. Our mostly free press let us know from day one that McConnell was away for health reasons. As for who is looking after the job in the meanwhile, it is in the nature of legislative work that you cannot delegate it. Whether on the senate floor or in committee sessions, no one can speak or vote for a senator. I realize some of the other Republicans are trying to say that Mitch is on top of things while in the hospital or rehab. This is political nonsense. EDIT: For some purposes, such as asking Trump for a disaster declaration should such be needed, the person who is “looking after the job in the meanwhile” is the other Kentucky senator, Rand Paul. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/335 "2026-07-13T02:21:20Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > To be clear: if they need time off for their health, they should take it, same as anyone else. They don’t owe their constituents the details, as they have as much right to privacy as anyone. But after a few days away, they SHOULD communicate that they are away for health reasons, and who is looking after the job in the meantime. I completely agree. But to be fair, when constituents need to deal directly with a Congresscritter, it’s pretty much always the staff that they deal with. I’ve had such encounters here in Canada, where the relevant authority is an MP (Member of Parliament). Never met the person myself, but a letter from “The Office of xx, Member of Parliament for xx” to an organization giving me grief can have the most remarkable and invigorating effects! 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/336 "2026-07-13T02:27:08Z")
> [@ShadowFacts](#): > > You can decide if you think she is reputable, but she is not crazy like Loomer, for sure. Hmmm… I gonna go with not reputable. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/337 "2026-07-13T02:34:59Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Are you kidding? No. When I look at a thread like this, I ask myself how I would react if the sick politician was a congressional Democrat. And I know I would defend them. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/338 "2026-07-13T03:17:27Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > When I look at a thread like this, I ask myself how I would react if the sick politician was a congressional Democrat. Frederica Wilson wasn’t treated like a saint or defended when she similarly went missing without providing info. I don’t think there’s as much of a bias as you’re alleging. She wasn’t attacked, of course, but there’s no “it’s okay if a Democrat does it” going on here. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/339 "2026-07-13T03:19:08Z")
I just don’t see any logic for why it would be different. A representative is still supposed to be representing in the same way a governor is supposed to be governing. Both have government responsibilities to the people who elected them. Executive or legislative doesn’t seem like a relevant difference. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/340 "2026-07-13T03:25:57Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > I have been trying to find an original copy of the image that has that much clarity. Look at my cites above. > [@wolfpup](#): > > I can’t believe that conspiracy theories are still circulating, even here! > > My conjecture about “why the secrecy” is just that the man is old, had a serious fall, and then developed pneumonia, so he was at risk the whole time he was in the hospital and the outcome was uncertain. They don’t keep people in the hospital for no good reason. I assume he was just recently moved to rehab once fully stabilized, and the news release coincided with that. > > I don’t trust either Mitch or his fellow Republican criminals as far as I could throw them, but I don’t see anything underhanded going on here. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Good points. > [@Atamasama](#): > > CNN also says that it’s Sunday’s sports section from the _Washington Post_. And BBC and The Guardian. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/341 "2026-07-13T04:10:55Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Our mostly free press let us know from day one that McConnell was away for health reasons. Yes, you’re right — my last few posts make no sense really. My brain is on vacation today, with no public statements… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937.md?page=18)