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As questions swirl across the well being standing of Senator Mitch McConnell after the GOP chief froze whereas taking questions from reporters for a second time, the subject of age and whether or not Republicans criticizing President Joe Biden are holding a double commonplace have reignited.
Throughout a press convention on Wednesday in Kentucky, McConnell, 81, froze simply earlier than answering a query from a reporter about whether or not he’ll search reelection in 2026. An analogous incident occurred final month throughout a press convention on Capitol Hill.
Political consultants say the longtime Kentucky senator’s obvious well being points are deeply regarding.
“Mitch McConnell isn’t only a senator from wherever. He’s the Senate minority chief, which suggests he’s accountable for main his celebration, not simply in committees however in coverage and concepts,” mentioned Christina M. Greer, affiliate professor of political science at Fordham College.
She informed theGrio, “It’s obvious that he’s not properly, and there’s been a decline in his communication abilities with the American public up to now few months.”
On Thursday, an attending doctor on Capitol Hill confirmed that McConnell suffered from “occasional lightheadedness” resulting from a earlier concussion he suffered after a fall in March. The doctor mentioned in a letter that he was “medically clear” to proceed work. Nonetheless, it’s unlikely that the letter will quell chatter about McConnell’s bodily or psychological health.
Critics say Republican lawmakers have been noticeably silent about McConnell’s well being considerations, regardless of many outstanding GOP politicians hitting President Joe Biden for his age and suggesting that he’s not cognitively outfitted for the job and, subsequently, reelection.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley went so far as to say that “in case you vote for Joe Biden, you actually are relying on a President [Kamala] Harris.” She informed Fox Information Channel, “The concept he would make it till 86 years outdated isn’t one thing that I believe is probably going.”
Antjuan Seawright, a political strategist who has suggested a number of Democratic campaigns, informed theGrio that Republicans must “look within the mirror inside their very own celebration and suppose earlier than they converse.” He continued, “Particularly contemplating Chief McConnell’s age and contemplating that Donald Trump, the chief of their celebration and main presidential candidate, is actually not a younger political determine himself.”
Recommendations by conservatives {that a} vote for Biden is a vote for Harris to be president within the occasion that he’s not in a position to end out a possible second time period isn’t solely a swipe at Biden’s age however at Harris as a Black and South Asian daughter of immigrants, says Greer.
“That can be an efficient technique as a result of, for some voters, they are going to by no means vote for a Black Indian individual,” mentioned the political scientist. She added, “There are a number of Individuals, women and men, who won’t ever vote for a girl.”
Nonetheless, Seawright predicted that utilizing Harris to criticize Biden’s age would backfire within the 2024 presidential election. “I don’t suppose they perceive the extra they double down, the extra…Black voters will come round and unite behind the primary Black lady to ever serve in one of many highest places of work on this planet.”
Whether or not legit or not, age is probably going a outstanding function of the 2024 election cycle. A current ballot by AP-NORC discovered that 77% of adults suppose Biden is simply too outdated to “successfully” serve one other 4 years as president. Fifty-five p.c mentioned the identical about Trump.
“A sure section of the inhabitants will at all times take into account age and alter,” mentioned Seawright, who famous that Biden “promised to be a transitional president.” Nonetheless, the previous Democratic Nationwide Committee senior adviser argued that regardless of his age, Biden has been efficient and productive as president.
“There’s not a constituency on this nation who haven’t benefited from the Biden-Harris administration,” he mentioned. “Productiveness means extra so than the rest on the subject of the chief of the free world.”
As for McConnell, Greer mentioned if he had been to retire from the Senate, the place he served for practically 40 years, politics in Washington may change drastically.
“Though his morals had been, I might say, typically shaken coping with Donald Trump, he’s one of many final vestiges of a senator that type of did take into consideration working throughout the aisle,” she mentioned. A number of the youthful and “bold” Republican senators are a bit extra “media-hungry” and fewer involved about bipartisanship, Greer defined.
She added, “So with McConnell gone, I don’t know what the Republican Senate appears to be like like.”
Gerren Keith Gaynor is a White Home Correspondent and the Managing Editor of Politics at theGrio. He’s based mostly in Washington, D.C.
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