Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell drew attention to his health when the 81-year-old froze mid-speech at a Capitol press conference on Wednesday, and walked away escorted by fellow Republican senators. The incident raised eyebrows and the video went viral on social media.
The Republican leader is a polio survivor, who walks with a limp and has reportedly had three falls in the past year – once on ice before a meeting in Finland, once while deboarding a plane, and the worst, a fall that led to a concussion and broken ribs.
Following the episode, the Senate Minority Leader said he spoke to President Joe Biden, 80, who called to check on him. He joked that he told the president that he got “sandbagged”.
“The president called to check on me. I told him I got sandbagged,” said McConnell, who was referring to President Biden’s onstage trip and fall over a sandbag just a month ago. At the time, Biden had quipped: “I got sandbagged.”
Petty political jibes aside, the incident highlights the fact that the oldest democracy in the world is not immune to age inequality in parliamentary politics. The average age of US Congress is 58 years, with the 100-member US Senate averaging at 64 years and the 435-member House of Representatives averaging at 57. The Democrats are slightly older than Republicans in Congress. The average age for Republicans in the House is 56 and it is 58 for Democrats.
The age group of 60 to 69 years is the most represented in both the chambers even as the median age in the US is 38.8 years. At least 65 percent of the Senate and 44.8 percent of the House are ‘baby boomers’ (those born between 1946 and 1964).
There are also members older than that – Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein is 90 years old and has appeared confused since the time she returned to work after a shingles diagnosis. Fellow Democrats had called on her to resign during an extended absence. Only recently, she was corrected and prodded to vote at a Senate Appropriations Committee meeting. Another one is Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, 89, who will be 95 by the end of his term.
The US President himself has faced scrutiny over his health and old age. He is the oldest president in the history of the US, and is known for his gaffes. He even called himself a “gaffe machine” as he stated that he was the “most qualified person” to be president in 2020 while taking a shot at his 77-year-old opponent and then President Donald Trump.
The President has a slew of viral on-camera gaffes ranging from confusing to outright indecipherable statements. He has also been found to be directionless at times, be it on stage or on his way to the White House. Moreover, the president is no stranger to embarrassing trips and falls, raising concerns about his mental and physical health.
This has become a political issue as well. Republican Presidential candidate Nikki Haley, 51, even suggested a mental competency test for candidates above the age of 75, taking shots at both Biden and Trump.
Political representatives tend to be older than the average voter and this is a worldwide phenomenon. Although this may not always lead to a disconnect with young voters, it may obstruct the country’s approach to policy making and its true aspirations.
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