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Aide: Sen Mitch McConnell Trips, Breaks Shoulder in Kentucky

The Associated Press
By The Associated Press
August 4, 2019US News
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Aide: Sen Mitch McConnell Trips, Breaks Shoulder in Kentucky
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) addresses the audience gathered at the Fancy Farm Picnic in Fancy Farm, Ky., on Aug. 3, 2019. (Timothy D. Easley/AP Photo)

LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is recuperating at home in Kentucky after suffering a shoulder fracture in a fall on Aug. 4, a spokesman said.

McConnell tripped Sunday morning on his outdoor patio, but has been treated and released after getting medical attention, David Popp, a spokesman for the Kentucky Republican, said in a statement. The emailed statement said the 77-year-old McConnell is working from home in Louisville and “will continue to work from home” for now.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell [R-Ky.] speaks during an interview with Reuters
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell [R-Ky.] speaks during an interview with Reuters in Washington, on Oct. 17, 2018. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)
The statement didn’t elaborate on where he received help or what treatment he received or the expected time needed for recovery.

But it said McConnell has expressed his sympathies to the people of El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, following the recent mass shootings in those communities and that he had been in touch with two Senate colleagues for those states.

Trump Comes to Defense

Last week, President Donald Trump defended McConnell after he was criticized in a Washington Post column that called him a “Russian asset” for blocking election security measures.

“I think the Washington Post is the Russian asset, by comparison. Mitch McConnell loves our country. He’s done a great job,” Trump told reporters at the White House before boarding Marine One.

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President Donald Trump walks back to the White House on July 30, 2019, in Washington, D.C. Trump traveled to Williamsburg, Virginia, to deliver remarks at the 400th Anniversary of the first representative legislative assembly at the historic Jamestown settlement. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“If they actually said that—that Mitch McConnell is an asset of Russia—they ought to be ashamed of themselves and they ought to apologize,” the president added.

The opinion piece, written by Dana Milbank, pilloried McConnell’s opposition to the Democrat-sponsored bill, saying that his actions were “aiding and abetting Putin’s dismantling of Americans’ self-governance.”

McConnell retaliated in saying that he has spoken “on the Senate floor today about my extensive record of standing up to Russia, election security, and why we won’t let some Democrats exploit this crisis to push unrelated partisan priorities that have been on their wish list long before 2016,” according to a tweet.

The senator said the claim is tantamount to “modern-day McCarthyism,” according to a transcript of his remarks on the Senate floor.

“These absurd smears weren’t thrown out there by anonymous Twitter accounts or fringe bloggers. Oh, no. This modern-day McCarthyism was pushed by big-time outlets. The smear that I am, quote, a ‘Russian asset’ ran in the opinion pages of The Washington Post. The accusation that I am, quote, ‘un-American’ was broadcast on MSNBC,” he said.

He added: “This modern-day McCarthyism is toxic and damaging because of the way it warps our entire public discourse. Facts matter. Details matter. History matters. And if our nation is losing the ability to debate public policy without screaming about treason—that really matters.”

Epoch Times reporter Jack Phillips contributed to this article.

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