参议院少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔(Mitch McConnell)周三在他的家乡肯塔基州举行的新闻发布会上似乎再次冻结。
视频显示，当记者问及他是否会在2026年竞选连任时，这位共和党参议员在科文顿发表讲话。麦康奈尔的声音越来越小，被看到盯着前方超过30秒，然后一名助手进来问他是否听到了这个问题。
助手然后转向房间说，“好吧，我很抱歉你们所有人。我们需要一分钟。”
麦康奈尔的发言人告诉美国广播公司新闻，“领袖麦康奈尔在今天的新闻发布会上感到短暂的头晕和停顿。”
参议员的一名助手表示，尽管麦康奈尔感觉良好，但出于谨慎，他将在下一次活动前咨询医生。
事件发生后，麦康奈尔打电话给参议院共和党人高层，包括参议员约翰·图恩。图恩的一名助手告诉美国广播公司新闻，麦康奈尔“听起来像往常一样，情绪很好。”
81岁的麦康奈尔在7月下旬引发了人们的关注，当时他在国会山的讲台上停止了讲话。20秒钟后，他在两名同事的搀扶下离开了新闻发布会。
几分钟后，这位参议员再次出现在麦克风前，继续回答问题。当被问及这一插曲时，他告诉记者他“很好”
上个月事件发生后，乔·拜登总统打电话询问麦康奈尔的情况。麦康奈尔说，他和总统开玩笑说，他“被沙包了”——指的是拜登在空军毕业典礼上摔倒。
周三，拜登在对飓风伊达里亚和毛伊岛野火发表评论时表示，他将试图与麦康奈尔联系。
拜登说:“如你所知，米奇是一个朋友，而不是一个笑话。”。“我们总是——我知道人们不相信是这样——但我们在政治上有分歧——但他是一个好朋友。所以，今天下午晚些时候我会试着和他联系。我知道的还不够多。”
2023年7月26日，在华盛顿国会大厦举行的新闻发布会上，共和党领袖在麦克风前冻结后，参议院少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔得到了参议员约翰·巴拉索的帮助。
J.斯科特·阿普尔怀特/美联社
麦康奈尔的健康状况引起了越来越多的关注，他今年早些时候在华盛顿一家酒店摔倒后住院。他遭受了脑震荡和肋骨骨折，需要住院五天，随后住院康复。
几周后，他回到参议院，受到同事们的热烈拥抱，他告诉记者，“回来真好。”
国会目前因八月休会而休会。参议员们将于9月5日回到华盛顿。
今年早些时候，麦康奈尔成为历史上任职时间最长的参议院政党领袖。
McConnell appears to freeze again during news conference
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday appeared to freeze again during a news conference in his home state of Kentucky.
Video showed the Republican senator speaking in Covington when he was asked by reporter about whether he will run for reelection in 2026. McConnell trailed off and was seen staring ahead for more than 30 seconds before an aide stepped in to ask if he'd heard the question.
The aide then turns to the room and says," Alright, I am sorry you all. We are going to need a minute."
A spokesperson for McConnell told ABC News, "Leader McConnell felt momentarily lightheaded and paused during his press conference today."
An aide for the senator said while McConnell feels fine, he will be consulting a physician out of caution before his next event.
After the episode, McConnell called top Senate Republicans, including Sen. John Thune. An aide to Thune told ABC News that McConnell "sounded like his usual self and was in good spirits."
McConnell, 81, sparked concern in late July when he was escorted away from the podium on Capitol Hill after he stopped speaking mid-sentence. After 20 seconds, he was helped away from the press conference by two of his colleagues.
The senator reappeared at the microphone minutes later to continue answering questions. Asked about the episode, he told reporters he was "fine."
President Joe Biden called to check on McConnell after the incident last month. McConnell said he joked with the president that he "got sandbagged" -- a reference to Biden's fall during the Air Force graduation ceremony.
On Wednesday, while giving remarks on Hurricane Idalia and the Maui wildfires, Biden said he would try to get in touch with McConnell.
"Mitch is a friend, as you know, not a joke," Biden said. "We always -- I know people don't believe that's the case -- but we have disagreements politically -- but he's a good friend. And so, I'm going to try to get in touch with him later this afternoon. I don't know enough to know."
McConnell's health has drawn increased attention after he was hospitalized earlier this year following a fall at a Washington hotel. He suffered a concussion and fractured rib, requiring a five-day hospital stay and later inpatient rehabilitation.
He returned to the Senate weeks later to a warm embrace by colleagues, telling reporters it was "good to be back."
Congress is currently out of session for August recess. Senators are due back in Washington on Sept. 5.
Earlier this year, McConnell became the longest-serving Senate party leader in history.
