The aging Senate GOP chief was met with a chorus of boos and objections during a political event in western Kentucky on Saturday.
“Elaine and I are really excited to be back at Fancy Farm on behalf of the strongest Republican team we’ve ever run in our state,” McConnell said at the St. Jerome Church Picnic in the town of Fancy Farm, better known as simply the Fancy Farm picnic. He appeared with his wife, former US Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.
As he began to speak, however, the 81-year-old senator was met with a rising crescendo of boos and chants of “retire!” and “lost the Senate,” referring to the results of the 2020 election, in which Republicans lost their majority in the upper congressional chamber. The crowd was reportedly composed of both Republicans and Democrats.
“We’re up against the folks who gave you record-high inflation, we’re up against the folks who closed schools and then told you that teachers’ unions know what’s best for your kids, we’re up against folks who’d rather let repeat offenders walk free than get tough on crime,” McConnell continued. But so did the jeers.
Eventually, the union chants of “retire” grew so loud that McConnell had to yell into the microphone to be heard over them.
The heckling comes after McConnell froze during a presser at the US Capitol late last month. After starting his opening remarks surrounded by a few dozen reporters and some of his staff, the Kentucky senator suddenly stopped speaking for nearly a minute, his face frozen in an expressionless appearance. He was eventually led away from the podium and down the hallway before later returning to answer their questions.
“I’m fine,” he told them, declining to discuss his health further.
As footage of the awkward event spread across social media, it prompted a spike in internet searches for “gerontocracy,” a term coined to refer to a government composed of elderly politicians.
McConnell has represented Kentucky in the US Senate since 1985 and is currently serving his seventh term after being reelected in the 2020 election. In the wake of his freeze-up, McConnell's office stated the senator would finish his term, which ends in 2026.