# 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:** 52
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/1022 "2026-09-20T18:42:49Z")
I did not make a claim. I just said “Snopes weighs in” and posted a link. > # Mitch McConnell’s health: 12 claims we’ve investigated > > ## After three months of missing votes following a June hospitalization, the 84-year-old senator returned to work on Sept. 14, 2026. > > On Sept. 14, 2026, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., **[returned to the Senate](https://apnews.com/article/mitch-mcconnell-senate-return-abe03e84e30a174da4076385692b5751)** after a three-month absence. > > In July 2026, McConnell’s office **[revealed](https://perma.cc/FVX2-F4R4)** he had been hospitalized after a fall the previous month. The 84-year-old — whose long absence rekindled a debate about age limits for members of Congress — has spent **[more than 40 years](https://www.senate.gov/senators/longest_serving_senators.htm)** in the Senate, including **[a record 18](https://www.senate.gov/senators/longest-serving-party-leaders.htm)** as party leader. He has announced he will retire at the end of his term in January 2027. > > Social media users, who have long **[speculated about McConnell’s health](https://www.snopes.com/news/2023/03/09/mitch-mcconnell-dead-fall/)**, claimed during his absence that **[he had died](https://www.snopes.com/news/2026/07/07/mitch-mcconnell-dead-rumors/)** or was **[brain-dead](https://www.snopes.com/news/2026/07/07/mitch-mcconnell-brain-dead-rumor/)**. In one case, Snopes looked into a claim that **[a video showed McConnell barely moving](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/mitch-mcconnell-motionless-video/)** for 20 hours on the Senate floor. > > Here are 12 claims related to McConnell’s health we’ve looked into over the years: ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/1023 "2026-09-20T18:49:00Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Because i looked at it, and there was a ton there, and everything i looked at was irrelevant to your claim I read through it, and also found nothing relevant to a claim that McConnell was walking anywhere recently. But I think it was @BigT who said he walked in and out of the chamber. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/1024 "2026-09-20T18:59:53Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I read through it, and also found nothing relevant to a claim that McConnell was walking anywhere recently. Nor did I make that claim. Okay, this thread is over 1000 posts long, In those 1000 there are hundreds of rumors and conspiracy theories. This Snopes link will clarify and often debunk those. Here is the important thing- **I MADE NO CLAIM.** Not that he walked in- that was another poster- > [@BigT](#): > > Odd that he walked in and out of the chamber, yet they wheeled him in completel > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > But I think it was @BigT who said he walked in and out of the chamber. Yes. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/1025 "2026-09-20T19:11:28Z")
I heard he used a wheelchair. I’ve also heard that he walked. Where is Judge Judy when you need her? ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/1026 "2026-09-20T19:21:01Z")
The clips I’ve seen showed him in a chair; and being pushed, not maneuvering it independently. But I don’t know whether at some point not shown in the clips I’ve seen (at least one cited earlier in this thread) he got out of it and walked a short distance. I haven’t seen any evidence of that, though. @BigT, do you have any? @bobot, where did you hear that he walked? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/1027 "2026-09-20T19:40:41Z")
That was in this thread. 🙂 ---
**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:** [September 20, 2026, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/1028 "2026-09-20T19:44:30Z")
DrDeth’s link is to several Snopes articles about McConnell’s health. The [first one](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/mitch-mcconnell-motionless-video/) says this under “What’s True”: > Video provided by C-SPAN shows McConnell attended the 19-hour, 45-minute session and remained seated continuously for stretches as long as six hours. Periodically over the first few hours of the session, he can be seen standing up, moving around and **walking in and out of the chamber** , albeit leaning on desks for support. (bolding mine) ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/1029 "2026-09-20T20:28:53Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > DrDeth’s link is to several Snopes articles about McConnell’s health. The quote you posted is in reference to June, before his hospitalization. There was nothing in DrDeth’s link related to his current status. > [@DrDeth](#): > > I did not make a claim. I just said “Snopes weighs in” and posted a link. This isn’t really the full story. The discussion for the last several hundred posts has been about his recent hospitalization. Either your link was purposely misleading, or you didn’t read it closely enough to realize it was all old news. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/1030 "2026-09-21T01:13:03Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > That was in this thread Where in this thread, please? It’s a very long thread. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/1031 "2026-09-21T03:30:26Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > The discussion for the last several hundred posts has been about his recent hospitalization. Either your link was purposely misleading, or you didn’t read it closely enough to realize it was all old news. > # Mitch McConnell’s health: 12 claims we’ve investigated > > ## After three months of missing votes following a June hospitalization, the 84-year-old senator returned to work on Sept. 14, 2026. > > ### **[Taija PerryCook](https://www.snopes.com/author/taija-perrycook/)** > > ### Published Sept. 19, 2026 Published yesterday. Not old news. Many of the linked stories are old news, just as promised. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/1032 "2026-09-21T03:41:53Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Published yesterday. Not old news. Many of the linked stories are old news, just as promised. It bugs me that Snopes has started doing this although I guess it makes sense for them to aggregate stories rather than letting their search engine get pounded. But what they have done here is put today’s date on old news. They did articles about McConnell months ago and this article from Sept 19th is just the collection of anything tagged “Mitch McConnell” over the past few _years_. But it isn’t an update at all, hence the confusion about whether or not he can actually walk right now. Although in my opinion, I don’t think there is any chance he is walking anywhere unassisted right now. One fall and he’s dead the moment he hits the ground. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/1033 "2026-09-21T03:45:01Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > But what they have done here is put today’s date on old news. ## **, the 84-year-old senator returned to work on Sept. 14, 2026.** Yes, the older linked stories are old news. > [@DWMarch](#): > > But it isn’t an update at all, hence the confusion about whether or not he can actually walk right now. > **[Video claiming to show McConnell barely moving for 20 hours on Senate floor...](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/mitch-mcconnell-motionless-video/)** > > While the senator wasn’t continuously seated during the lengthy voting session, he was visibly weak at times. > **What’s True** > > Video provided by C-SPAN shows McConnell attended the 19-hour, 45-minute session and remained seated continuously for stretches as long as six hours. Periodically over the first few hours of the session, he can be seen standing up, moving around and walking in and out of the chamber, albeit leaning on desks for support. During the session, he was visibly slow and weak. At the end, an aide helped him out of the chamber. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/1034 "2026-09-21T03:52:58Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > **What’s True** > > Video provided by C-SPAN shows McConnell attended the 19-hour, 45-minute session and remained seated continuously for stretches as long as six hours. Periodically over the first few hours of the session, he can be seen standing up, moving around and walking in and out of the chamber, albeit leaning on desks for support. During the session, he was visibly slow and weak. At the end, an aide helped him out of the chamber. Maybe share more of the Snopes quote, which makes it clear that the video was from early June, before he was hospitalized? > [@](#): > > As U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., remained absent from the Senate floor due to his health issues in August 2026, a [video](https://www.reddit.com/r/PoursTea/comments/1vwm8m7/mitch_and_his_team_of_handlers_have_some/) taken June 4, when he was still able to attend, purportedly showed him remaining seated, nearly motionless, throughout a 20-hour Senate voting session. > > According to [several](https://perma.cc/RPZ9-3XVW) [posts](https://perma.cc/LB6U-9MK8) on X and [Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/PoursTea/comments/1vwm8m7/mitch_and_his_team_of_handlers_have_some/), the footage was condensed into a time-lapse video of the entire 20-hour session. A post on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/cheering4change/reel/DcNetd6xhmi/) claimed McConnell was in a wheelchair. A post on X claimed he was “in the Senate for nearly 20 hours and barely moved.” > > The full 19 hours and 45 minutes of [C-SPAN footage](https://www.c-span.org/congress/?chamber=senate&date=2026-06-04) recorded that day proves otherwise. It also proves that the time-lapse video was heavily edited and only covered select parts of the session. > > McConnell didn’t sit near-motionless on the Senate floor for 20 hours. The C-SPAN video shows he walked in and out of the chamber several times on his own, though he was visibly weak and leaning on desks. He also sat for brief periods during the early part of the session. McConnell only remained continuously seated for around six hours toward the end of the session, after which he was escorted out by an aide. > > As such, we rate this claim as mostly false. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/1035 "2026-09-21T03:55:57Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Maybe share more of the Snopes quote, which makes it clear that the video was from early June, before he was hospitalized? Yes, that was taken June 4. That part is old news, like I mentioned, several parts are old news.. But the whole article is not old news. Just the older attached bits, of which that is one. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/1036 "2026-09-21T04:16:26Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But the whole article is not old news. Just the older attached bits, of which that is one. The only thing that isn’t old news is the opening 3 paragraphs, in which Snopes states that McConnell has been hospitalized and there has been a lot of speculation about his health since then. And then Snopes says ‘here are 12 things we’ve investigated’, the newest of which was June 4 of this year and the oldest back in 2017. Any news about McConnell in the Snopes article is old news. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/1037 "2026-09-21T05:55:51Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > (If the Senate majority switched he’d be replaced in that spot by Patty Murray (D-WA) who at least seems functional.) Patty Murray is great. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/1038 "2026-09-21T15:46:21Z")
There is absolutely nothing in the Snopes link which says or shows that McConnell was walking this September. If there’s anything anywhere in this thread, or elsewhere, showing evidence that McConnell has been walking this September, I would like to be shown it. Maybe he can walk; I don’t know; but I doubt it. However, if anybody’s claiming there’s evidence that he can walk since the recent hospitalization, again, please show your work. If you just got confused about the date of an article or a post which only said that he could walk last June, there’s no shame in saying so. In any case, the issue isn’t really whether he can walk. It’s whether, and how well, he can think, and can in some fashion express what he’s thinking. Functional legs aren’t required to vote in the Senate, and shouldn’t be. A functional brain apparently isn’t required to vote in the Senate, but it ought to be. ---
**Author:** ![JoePockets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8dc957/32.png) [@JoePockets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoePockets)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/1039 "2026-09-21T15:52:46Z")
I believe he can still breathe without oxygen! That’s about it! Do you think the GOP would allow him to function and vote without the ability to read and comprehend?….I do ! Right in front of the public’s eyes! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/1040 "2026-09-21T17:19:02Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > There is absolutely nothing in the Snopes link which says or shows that McConnell was walking this September. Correct. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937/1041 "2026-09-23T23:11:24Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > In any case, the issue isn’t really whether he can walk. It’s whether, and how well, he can think, and can in some fashion express what he’s thinking. Functional legs aren’t required to vote in the Senate, and shouldn’t be. A functional brain apparently isn’t required to vote in the Senate, but it ought to be. Right. There’s absolutely no rain a sensor has to be able to walk. It would be nice if they were all capable of thought, though. Too bad that’s not a constitutional requirement. So are we finally all in agreement? He’s alive, he’s in terrible shape, and there’s nothing that will be done about it? (And really, nothing that should be done under existing law. I think the Senate rules around expelling a member are about moral failures, and it’s not a moral fault to be frail and senile.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937.md?page=51) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-falls-twice-in-capitol/1013937.md?page=53)