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Trump, other GOP leaders called for McConnell to step down after freezes | Fact check
By BrieAnna J. Frank, USA TODAY,
3 days ago
The claim: No one called for McConnell to step down after freezing on camera
A July 5 Instagram post ( direct link , archive link ) 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,” reads on-screen text included in the post.
Numerous Republican leaders, including former President Donald Trump, said McConnell should step down after he froze while talking to reporters twice in 2023.
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 that said there was “no evidence” the episodes were caused by a stroke or seizure disorder, the Associated Press reported .
Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene 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.”
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, Kentucky, and the chair of the Jessamine County Republican Party told The Washington Post his chapter believed McConnell should leave his leadership role following his second freezing episode later that month.
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 re-elected 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.
USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta .
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