Appearing in a Kentucky county where Donald Trump led Joe Biden by about 57 percentage points in the results from the 2020 presidential race, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) faced furious jeers over the weekend, with the crowd loudly chanting that he should retire. As the Senator tried to get through his remarks, the crowd loudly bellowed that word — “retire!” — over and over.
McConnell was barely audible in footage from the event as the jeers mounted only further. The gathering was a community barbecue in Fancy Farm, Kentucky, an area in the state’s Graves County. Other political figures in the state also appeared, including Democratic Governor Andy Beshear and Daniel Cameron, the Republican currently serving as state attorney general who is hoping to unseat Beshear in elections to be held later this year. Cameron maligned Beshear in remarks to the crowd over his claimed stance on social issues, by association also maligning the transgender Kentuckians who Beshear has sought to support. Furious antagonism towards marginalized communities like transgender Americans has been a hallmark of recent Republican Party politics.
As for McConnell, he recently froze up and was escorted away during a news conference. The precise nature of whatever health problem he may have experienced at the time is unclear, though he’s recently also experienced a series of falls. McConnell said President Joe Biden was in touch with him to offer support after the incident at the press conference. Though Biden has himself received criticisms related to his age and whether or not he remains fit for office, Donald Trump, who many expect to again be Biden’s general election challenger in 2024, isn’t that far behind the incumbent president. Biden is 80 years of age, and Trump is now 77 years old. Either would be the oldest president as of their inauguration ever if successful next year.
VIDEO: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was mercilessly booed and jeered at the 143rd Annual St. Jerome Fancy Farm Picnic in Kentucky this weekend. pic.twitter.com/2iPMZ5Ot3q
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) August 6, 2023
