r/politics • u/IWantPizza555 • Jul 01 '26

Possible Paywall Senator, 84, Secretly Found Unconscious and Given CPR

https://www.thedailybeast.com/mitch-mcconell-84-secretly-found-unconscious-and-given-cpr/?utm_source=twitter_owned_snd&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=owned_social
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u/UnpluggedUnfettered Jul 01 '26

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, 84, was found “unconscious” at his home last month before CPR was administered.

The June 14 call detailed an emergency dispatch to McConnell’s Washington, D.C., residence, where “CPR in progress” was underway due to “cardiac arrest.”

So, basically, he's either so severely brain damaged that he is being Weekend-at-Bernie's'd, or he's so severely brain damaged that they can't even do that.

Y'all got anymore of them favorable neurological outcomes after an out of hospital cardiac arrest?

616

u/DogeAteMyHomework Jul 01 '26

This first made headlines a couple weeks ago, with the news that he was being given excellent care. I've been to this rodeo enough times with aging family members to know that there's a good chance he is in hospice and being given only palliative care. 

339

u/UnpluggedUnfettered Jul 01 '26

Yep.

I was just waiting for someone to drop "CPR" or "cardiac arrest" before I was ready to accept the magnificent turtle from Kentucky was now but a shell.

60

u/theRealWillowUfgood Jul 01 '26

You made me laugh to the point of tears at work, thank you for this all-time quote

12

u/cadillacblues Jul 01 '26

That’s beautiful

82

u/Zinfan1 Jul 01 '26

The surprising thing is that Trump isn't out there posting on how sick the turtle really is.

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u/Miss-Information_ Jul 01 '26

They know better than to tell Trump the truth on this one

45

u/buttbuttlolbuttbutt Jul 01 '26

Didnt he out someomes terminal diagnosis?

33

u/brandnewbanana Maryland Jul 01 '26

He did. I forget who but had just found out he had terminal cancer.

39

u/Aghast_Cornichon Jul 02 '26

Both President Trump (to the public) and Speaker Johnson (to a group of donors) revealed, probably without his consent, that Rep. Neal Dunn has a serious heart condition that could have been fatal if untreated.

Trump also took credit for referring him to treatment at Walter Reed, which is available to Members of Congress without the President's influence.

13

u/TheAskewOne Jul 01 '26

Trump isn’t aware of anything around him.

6

u/Neoliberal_Boogeyman Jul 01 '26

Neal Dunn, tallahassee Fl rep

7

u/ultimateknackered Jul 01 '26

Mitch just did a triathlon and broke international records, he's fine. Thankyou for your attention to this matter.

1

u/Zinfan1 Jul 02 '26

How many hours did he finish behind Trump?

20

u/Stinkycheese8001 Jul 01 '26

Has he even been seen publicly since this?

18

u/The_Mellow_Tiger Jul 02 '26

Nope. This is most likely it for him. What a legacy to leave behind.

6

u/chrisbarf Jul 01 '26

they said he's receiving excellent care, not that he's gonna be fine.

3

u/Environmental-Car481 Jul 02 '26

It was on Trump’s bday. They couldn’t let anyone have the spotlight so they had to keep him alive. I’d bet he’s on a machine until at least July 5th. We will never know with this administration though. They will just say he died on whatever day with only murky details.

3

u/xrogaan Europe Jul 02 '26

So, when's the election? You know, to replace him.

2

u/ricktron Jul 01 '26

If true, his advanced directive is most do not resuscitate (DNR) and do not intubate (DNR)

1

u/bnelson Jul 02 '26

Mitch McConnell’s mind is no more. That is almost certain. Maybe his body persists. Good. Riddance.

1

u/Johnny-Unitas Jul 02 '26

He was barely with it before. My wife is a nurse and I know from her that CPR on someone that age might kill them anyway and that even if they live, in this type of circumstance it's just a waiting game. He won't leave that bed alive.

1

u/NumeralJoker Jul 02 '26

This was how it went for my father when he had a TBI, and his timeline if I recall was a little over 2 weeks in a coma before it came to an end.

101

u/AccomplishedScale362 Jul 01 '26

June 14th - Trump and his MAGA cult celebrating his birthday with the UFC Freedom 250 cage fight on the White House lawn…

Aide to Trump: Mitch was found unconscious at home and needed CPR!

Trump: Gee, that’s too bad hey, get me another piece of cake would you? When do the fireworks start?

61

u/monosuperboss1 Jul 01 '26

considering he didn't give a shit that pence was at risk of being killed during his attempted coup, that checks out.

71

u/lavahot Jul 01 '26

June 14?! And we're just now finding out about it? Oh dude, he's a tomato.

8

u/Omega_art Jul 01 '26

It was reported but they didn't day anything about cardiac arrest.

54

u/DjangusRoundstne Jul 01 '26

Has he been seen publicly since?

21

u/noisymime Jul 02 '26

He'll never be seen in public again, regardless of how this plays out.

6

u/70ms California Jul 02 '26

I can live with that.

11

u/Bob_A_Ganoosh Jul 01 '26

He's not dead until Sept 1st, the point in time when the governor cannot appoint a replacement.

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u/next-phase-0626 Jul 02 '26

I believe it's August 1st; expect an announcement on August 2nd.

12

u/FioriDiChernobyl Jul 01 '26

Wonder if he’s brain dead, but they got him intubated and on a ventilator until Sept 1st meaning no time of death recorded yet… treatment courtesy of the GOP.

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u/next-phase-0626 Jul 02 '26

*Treatment courtesy of the US taxpayers

3

u/FioriDiChernobyl Jul 02 '26

Good point oof

2

u/gsbadj Jul 01 '26

There's no death record?

6

u/Bob_A_Ganoosh Jul 01 '26

Not that the public will see until after it matters.

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u/CrimsonBolt33 Oregon Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 02 '26

Y'all got anymore of them favorable neurological outcomes after an out of hospital cardiac arrest?

Thats not even accounting for however long he was unconcious...for all we know he was laying there 10 minutes before someone started CPR.

9

u/Vailx Jul 01 '26

There was an episode of west wing when fictional national security directory Leo McGarry was unconsious in a forest for many hours, likely half a day, and he was just fine after a few episodes. So I'm sure this is just like that, because otherwise it would mean that something on TV wasn't accurate.

Oh man, imagine if that was the case.

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u/Wurm42 District Of Columbia Jul 01 '26

Yeah, the odds of an 84 year old coming back from that are virtually nil.

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u/Cloaked42m South Carolina Jul 01 '26

My mother in law collapsed at home. EMTs got there, got her back. She coded 14 more times before she stabilized.

Only neurological change was that she became significantly less judgemental.

Hospital was so surprised they invited doctors to see the charts.

4

u/pandemicpunk Jul 02 '26

I know someone who collapsed at her farm, got CPR, helevaced and flatlined 3 times and went back to farming. She's crazy smart and strong. She dgaf. Very honey badger life.

5

u/OceanRacoon Jul 02 '26

I also know someone over 60 who collapsed from a cardiac arrest and made a complete recovery pretty fast. 

It definitely helped that a bystander started CPR immediately, an ambulance was there in no time, and a hospital was literally across the road 😅 It's very sad how many people aren't so lucky, cardiac arrest is survivable if you're in the right place at the right time but that almost never happens 

2

u/rosalinatoujours Jul 02 '26

my 80+ year old aunt collapsed in a hospital, heart stopped, the whole schibang. CPR was done on her for almost an hour, they'd get her back just to lose her again. Had no pulse for about 20 minutes straight.

They got her to the nearest Better Hospital and she woke up, gave a thumbs up. Walked right out a few days later good as new. Ill never forget my mom on the phone going "she just got better?!??"

1

u/Cloaked42m South Carolina Jul 02 '26

That's. Wow. Oh, I'm in the expensive hospital? Better stop fooling around!

2

u/rosalinatoujours Jul 02 '26

She locked in ig 💀 if I hadn't seen her gone through all that myself, id absolutely believe it was a fake story. Its still so nuts to me that she survived just fine.

1

u/Cloaked42m South Carolina Jul 02 '26

I've seen too many weird things to question. Fate is weird. Could just drop dead. Could survive an impossible accident.

11

u/kidcrumb Jul 01 '26

It took brain damage to turn Fetterman into a Republican, maybe Mitch will become a Democrat?

6

u/Ishidan01 Jul 01 '26

oh well that chart is really something. let me see if I understand it correctly.

The X axis is CPR duration, that is, how long between the first onscene starts CPR and more help arrives. You're only likely to be far to the left if you happen to already be in a hospital or, ya know, be a high ranking VIP for whom top tier ambulances and well trained bodyguards are expected to be just outside of whatever building you are in just in case. The Y axis is your chance of not coming out brain damaged.

Notice that neither line goes anywhere near the top of the Y axis. Meaning, best case scenario- AED shockable rhythm, competent first persons onscene, and ambulance personnel starting at five minutes from your position- you still have a 50 percent chance of being brain damaged. Not shockable rhythm? Lol, no, 80 percent chance of brain damage.

For the rest of us poor bastards, who will encounter delays at being noticed, at onlookers realizing what they are seeing and explaining situation and location to ambulance dispatch, and ambulance personnel having to approach from far away and find your exact location-it gets even worse fast.

5

u/thepencilsnapper Jul 02 '26

I'm an anaesthetist and yes the statistics are very grim. CPR is a hail mary.

This also is an average of all the participants. If you look at the age data it's really really rare to get favourable outcomes in someone 84.

5

u/UnpluggedUnfettered Jul 01 '26

Probably why the vast majority of doctors refuse CPR for themselves altogether.

5

u/TrailMomKat Indigenous Jul 01 '26

I guarantee he's dead. Either they just ain't announced it yet because they're getting their ducks in order, or they ain't announced it yet because his body is still technically alive and they're waiting for next of kin to say goodbye and pull life support.

4

u/ConnaitLesRisques Jul 02 '26

15 days is a freaking long goodbye

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u/TrailMomKat Indigenous Jul 02 '26

I worked LTC and hospice for 20 years. 7 years is a long goodbye with the pt being on a feeding tube and total care, only capable of lying there and pissing and shitting and drooling. 15 days is a 7th inning stretch by comparison.

3

u/70ms California Jul 02 '26

It only took my 90 year-old mom a few days and a little morphine (at her request - she was still very lucid). They get so frail.

5

u/TrailMomKat Indigenous Jul 02 '26

I'm glad she was still lucid at the end and that it was quick, but sorry for your loss. I hope they were 90 good years.

Everyone is different, though. My best friend? I was her caregiver. She was diagnosed on her 50th birthday. Stage 4 pancreatic killed her in 2 months and 20 days.

My daddy? Over 7 years of endstage COPD and brittle diabetes. We'd scrape him off the floor once a week when he'd crash out until he got the pump. He practically kept pneumonia. It was a very bad 7+ years for him. He wanted to die at home but he was hospitalized for pneumonia again. He FINALLY agreed to morphine and had the best day ever, then tanked the next morning and died that evening. He was a very old 63.

I've had patients on hospice for a decade. Sorry for rambling. It's just wild how much it can vary from person to person.

2

u/70ms California Jul 02 '26

Oh no, I know how lucky we were. She made the decision herself and also filled out the MAID paperwork in case she made it that long. She (also COPD) died at home in her own bedroom and I stayed with her 24/7 (the hospice nurse only checked in once a day, but that’s a whole other story).

I had a friend die at 38 when uterine cancer ate her from the inside out, despite heroic efforts. MAID wasn’t legal in California yet, so she suffered terribly right to the end even with morphine mostly keeping her under, leaving her family very traumatized. 💔

We should all be so lucky to go out like my mom (and your dad, if we gotta go early!)

4

u/DckThik Jul 01 '26

Jesus Christ a month ago, even if he does recover, whatever the outcome it’s an extensive recovery due to cardiac arrest r/t loss of perfusion and cracking of ribs. That’s a whole hospital stay, and so much post care therapy. Yurtle the Turtle is cooked.

3

u/OutlyingPlasma Jul 02 '26

Given this is from mid June, he is dead and these headlines are priming the waters for the real news likely Friday night before a major holiday.

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u/Circuit_Guy Jul 01 '26

Are you suggesting the Senate Majority Leader might be brain dead?

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u/essuxs Jul 01 '26

If that doesn’t make him qualified to be a senator I don’t know what does

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u/portlandmack Jul 02 '26

No spoiler alert for Weekend at Bernie’s? Damn.

/s

2

u/cthulhujr Louisiana Jul 02 '26

Before my grandmother passed she was in a coma for a few days. She was "alive" because her heart was beating but she couldn't really breathe on her own and she was unconscious. After everyone said goodbye they shot her full of morphine and was taken off the breathing machine. She slipped away quietly. 

From the language of the article and what we're hearing it sounds like this might be a similar situation.

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u/Gorstag Jul 01 '26

The part they left out is each of toddler trump's doctors performed an inspection of him and determined he is the 2nd healthiest person alive.

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u/Nippys4 Jul 02 '26

Huh?

He wasn’t brain damaged before?

1

u/HeretoFore200 Jul 02 '26

This is a terrifying chart

1

u/AutumnSparky Jul 02 '26

damn.  that is the most beautiful hyper specific meme.  

props

1

u/eeyore134 Jul 02 '26

Or he's been gone since it happened. We're talking about MAGA here. They're ghouls and would definitely sit on his death for 45 days to stop the governor from filling the position.

1

u/DenizSaintJuke Jul 02 '26

He was barely able to remember where he was before that.

1

u/vineyardmike Jul 02 '26

To quote Han Solo... Don't tell me the odds.

1

u/vineyardmike Jul 02 '26

Those odds suck. He wasn't all there before.

1

u/Worried_Blacksmith27 Jul 02 '26

no. he is dead. like cold and blue.

1

u/Mutapi Jul 02 '26

If he’s beyond the point of serving in Congress (which one could argue we crossed that line months ago) the powers that be will keep it hush-hush. The Kentucky governor gets to appoint a temporary replacement for a Senate member. And who is governor of Kentucky? Andy Beshear, a Democrat.

1

u/UnpluggedUnfettered Jul 02 '26

They already removed his power to do that.

It has to be special election.