Following the circulation of a tweet containing video footage of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) experiencing a momentary freeze on Wednesday, Elon Musk expressed his views on Twitter, calling for a constitutional amendment.
During the incident, McConnell abruptly paused his speech mid-sentence and stood silently at the podium for an extended period. He later reassured the public that he was all right, though he did not elaborate on the cause of the episode.
The peculiar moment that captured the attention of mainstream media, and quickly became a topic of discussion on social media, occurred after the Republican leaders’ weekly party luncheon on Wednesday afternoon.
McConnell began speaking to the crowd, “Good afternoon, everyone. We’re on a path to finishing the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) this week; there’s been good bipartisan cooperation and a string of…”
Following that, McConnell trailed off, and he stood in silence for nearly a minute.
According to an aide from the senator’s office, it was reported that the lawmaker “felt lightheaded and stepped away for a moment. He came back to handle Q and A, which, as everyone observed, was sharp.”
Accompanying the video of McConnell’s peculiar episode, a social media account posted a message expressing concern, “The highest positions of our government, on both sides of the aisle, are held by people who genuinely belong in a nursing home. How are we allowing this to happen?”
In response, Musk commented, “We need a constitutional amendment. This is insane.”
Although Musk did not provide a detailed explanation of the specific constitutional amendment he was advocating for, his previous tweets hinted at his thoughts on age limits in government.
Just before his tweet, he responded to a post by Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon, who questioned the absence of upper age limits for serving in government, suggesting that 80 might be too old.
Musk said, “Maybe also some kind of basic test like ‘What is your job, and what year is it?’”
In 2021, Musk put forth the idea that individuals should not be eligible to run for political office once they reach a certain age. He tweeted, “Let’s set an age limit after which you can’t run for political office, perhaps a number just below 70.”
How do you feel that the people who make the most IMPORTANT decisions in the world can’t even make a speech?
Joe Biden? Mitch McConnell?
When will this end?
— Elon Musk (Parody) (@ElonMuskAOC) July 27, 2023
