McConnell health scares reinforce age issue in 2024 campaign

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell‘s (R-KY) second health scare caught on camera this summer is reigniting national conversations on aging lawmakers and their capacity to govern, with a particular spotlight on the 2024 presidential race.

McConnell struggled to respond to questions during a press conference on Wednesday before freezing for roughly 30 seconds. It was the second episode for the 81-year-old McConnell in less than two months after he froze during a press conference on Capitol Hill in late July. While allies of McConnell, such as Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), attempted to show the longest-serving Senate leader is in good health, others were already calling for him to step down.

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“He really should contemplate either stepping down as leader, announcing he’s going to retire at the end of this term, and maybe go to a reduced role in the Senate,” said former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum on Newsmax.

Conservative firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) called for federal oversight mentioning McConnell, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who have all struggled with health issues while in office. The 90-year-old Feinstein has faced multiple calls from members of her party calling for her to step down from office.

“Severe aging health issues and/or mental health incompetence in our nation’s leaders MUST be addressed. Biden, McConnell, Feinstein, and Fetterman are examples of people who are not fit for office and it’s time to be serious about it,” Greene wrote. “We are talking about our country’s national security and it’s all at stake! 25th amendment and other measures need to be on the table.”

McConnell’s health issues could have complications beyond who will succeed him as Senate Minority Leader in the GOP if he does decide to retire.

Both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, the two leading frontrunners for the Republican and Democratic Party respectively, have faced questions about their age and ability to lead the United States as chief executive.

Biden, at 80, is the oldest sitting U.S. president in history, a main concern to voters as he seeks reelection. An Associated Press-NORC poll released on Monday showed that 77% of those surveyed said Biden was too old to be an effective president for another four years. Nearly 90% of Republicans said the same thing as did 69% of Democrats, a stinging statistic from Biden’s own party.

When it comes to 77-year-old Trump, 51% of participants said he was too old to serve another four-year term, with 71% of Democrats who said agreed and only 28% of Republicans who agreed.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre pushed back against Biden’s age in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper Wednesday. “What this president brings to this administration is wisdom and experience,” she said. “People have come after the president about his age, they did it in 2019, they did it in 2020 leading into the general election, they did it in 2022, and guess what — he beats them every time because he has his finger on the pulse on what it else the American people need.”

Yet Republicans are not satisfied with the Biden administration’s rebuttals. Santorum directly attacked Biden’s cognitive abilities to govern during his NewsMax interview. “This is not like Joe Biden, who had sort of a cognitive decline over a period of years which continues,” he said, comparing Biden to McConnell’s health scare. “This was an acute incident that has caused the problem he has.”

“Unlike Democrats, Republicans actually do speak out about this and actually are calling for him to take a either reduced role as senator or to step down and announce his resignation at some point. You don’t see that from the other side,” Santorum added.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has repeatedly called for a new generation of GOP leadership and mental competency tests for lawmakers over the age of 75, a knock towards Trump and Biden.

Trump’s campaign told the Washington Examiner that the former president is the only Republican who can reclaim the White House next year. “President Trump continues to dominate in poll after poll— both nationally and statewide. He is the only person who is beating Joe Biden by significant margins because voters know President Trump’s return to the White House means a strong economy, a secure border, and a safer America,” said spokesman Steven Cheung.

Still, as the 2024 race intensifies, McConnell’s health will only lead to more scrutiny of lawmaker’s aging.

“The health question with respect to McConnell, especially if it persists as is likely, will almost certainly have an impact on the presidential race,” said Bob Evans, associate professor of political science at Rockford University. “McConnell’s health will bring more scrutiny to the question of Biden’s health. Questions are, of course, are already being raised. The age and infirmity questions about Biden would seem to be unavoidably analogous to the questions that the presence of McConnell will raise or present. Republicans can be relied upon to deflect any McConnell questions toward Biden. ‘Whataboutism’ is a disease of epic proportions in D.C.”

Evans also suggested that Trump could be hard hit by McConnell as health by Democrats. “If Trump is the nominee, Democrats can be relied upon to tie Trump and McConnell together as the out-of-touch, aging leadership of a generally out-of-touch, aging party,” he said. “The voters sought by Democrats appear to be very responsive to the negative image of Republicans. The age of their leaders and their political platform render Republicans vulnerable to caricature. Democrats will respond accordingly.”

Joseph Vargas, a veteran Texas GOP consultant, pointed to a difference in the way news reports documented Trump and Biden’s cognitive abilities as a possibility of media attention moving away from age if Biden and Trump are the presidential nominees next year.

“During Trump’s first presidential campaign, many in the media brought up concerns about his ability to serve due to his age, despite there being no visible signs of any cognitive decline. Biden, on the other hand, has exhibited numerous behaviors in public that raise concerns about his cognitive ability,” Vargas told the Washington Examiner. “However, the same media that questioned Trump’s cognitive ability has been silent on questioning Biden’s mental state. This is known as ‘selective outrage,’ where you point out an alleged concern with someone you dislike but ignore the same concern with someone you like.”

Biden was documented falling onstage during a U.S. Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in June. That same month it was reported Biden fell off his bike during a morning ride in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), a presidential candidate, criticized Biden’s fall at the Air Force Academy. “Well, isn’t it kind of just symbolic about the state of the country? You know, you have a president who lacks energy who’s stumped, stumbling around,” DeSantis said at the time.

Vargas claimed that favoritism towards Biden could cause the question of age to fall away. “So, due to the fact that a majority of media favor Democrat candidates; if Biden and Trump are the respective presidential nominees to their parties, the media will most likely not mention age as it will expose the older age of their preferred Democrat candidate,” Vargas said.

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But Evans said that the question of age will not disappear. “The McConnell issue may well reignite the debate over term limits for members of Congress. That debate ebbs and flows, but we occasionally get close to real action. This issue could act as a real catalyst,” he said. “Look at public opinion polls. They reveal ever deeper disaffection with government. A common complaint is over the age and ‘disconnectedness’ of politicians. Unfortunately, McConnell could be seen as the poster boy for this sentiment.”

“We may well be at the point that something dramatic could occur,” he also added. “It is difficult to remain indifferent to public opinion as it is currently being expressed.”