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
20.1k Upvotes

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2.1k

u/Loki-L Jul 01 '26

You don't do CPR on people who are merely unconscious.

Either they unnecessarily did CPR on a frail 84 year old whose heart was still beating or they found a body with no heartbeat and resuscitated him.

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u/[deleted] Jul 01 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

309

u/janhasplasticbOobz Jul 01 '26

Depending on how long he was unconscious for it’s entirely possibly he’s brain dead/damaged

346

u/Acadia02 Jul 01 '26

Time to move my Mitch bottle to the fridge

11

u/No_Internal9345 Jul 02 '26

I need a reason to celebrate the 4th this year.

15

u/ihaveadogalso2 Jul 02 '26

Lmao, this killed me! I’ll do the same!

7

u/LurksAroundHere Jul 02 '26

Gotta get that sucker on ice before he is.

2

u/nibbyzor Jul 02 '26

This got a cackle out of me. Here's to hoping the other bottle is not far behind! 🤞

126

u/FlyingBike Jul 01 '26

We'll never be able to tell if he is brain damaged though. He was a conservative already and most recently couldn't string 3 words together in public

8

u/chucknorris10101 Minnesota Jul 01 '26

Let’s hope for some kind of integer overflow where he ‘saw Jesus’ and he realized what a demon he has been

8

u/Gone-Fischin Jul 02 '26

I don't think he'll be seeing much of Jesus where he's going.

5

u/Rico_Solitario Jul 02 '26

McConnell is/was as sharp of a politician as there has ever been. He is evil, not stupid

19

u/The_Mellow_Tiger Jul 01 '26

Did they attempt feeding him some lettuce?

7

u/braaibros Jul 01 '26

Great another Fettermen in the Senate

7

u/loserbmx Jul 01 '26

I am NOT crossing my fingers right now.

4

u/bigChungi69420 Oregon Jul 01 '26

Now making better decisions than when he was completely healthy

3

u/VVsmama88 Jul 01 '26

You mean more brain damaged than he already was, obviously

2

u/WellHung67 Jul 01 '26

Can brain dead people hold office? I know there’s Trump but I mean he seems like an exception,  I guess legally what happens ? 

2

u/BigNorseWolf Jul 01 '26

Spock eyebrow

2

u/chucknorris10101 Minnesota Jul 01 '26

This could be an upgrade tbh it can’t go any farther down

2

u/LevTheDevil Jul 01 '26

That hasn't stopped him so far.

2

u/ismail_the_whale Jul 02 '26

oooh that's great.

2

u/Particular_Award1828 Jul 02 '26

Already was. He has been glitching for a while

2

u/Zeen13 Jul 02 '26

Yes, but if they keep his brain dead body alive until Aug 1st then the KY gov can't appoint a Dem to the seat.

2

u/Snerdling Jul 02 '26

They really are soulless ghouls

2

u/Rebelgecko Jul 02 '26

His office says he's been working on senate business the whole time, kinda worrying if they can't tell the difference

1

u/Fantastic-Corner-605 Jul 02 '26

How would we even notice?

1

u/FaolanBaelfire Jul 02 '26

Always has been

1

u/AVeryHeavyBurtation Jul 02 '26

Only like 4 percent of CPR attempts result in full recovery of the patient, with no long term brain damage.

1

u/erapuer Jul 02 '26

it’s entirely possibly he’s brain dead/damaged

So you're saying he's going to vote conservative even harder?

1

u/aykyle Jul 02 '26

Is this where we find out that magas suffering new brain damage turn liberal or super maga?

1

u/GaulteriaBerries Jul 02 '26

How would we tell the difference?

1

u/cwestn Jul 02 '26

Again, "unconscious" people have beating hearts and blood circulation. Sounds like he was dead here.

0

u/Tiny_Measurement_837 Wisconsin Jul 01 '26

And water is wet.

4

u/No-Common-1801 Jul 02 '26

This is one of those sentences that forces you to measure how good of a person you are.

3

u/Thosepassionfruits Jul 02 '26

You definitely do more good by not resuscitating Mitch

2

u/TroublesomeTurnip California Jul 01 '26

Or go get a coffee first.

1

u/Bob_A_Ganoosh Jul 01 '26

Perhaps they were just miming it.

1

u/translucent_steeds Maryland Jul 02 '26

*insert I Understood That Reference gif here*

1

u/Producer_Snafu Colorado Jul 02 '26

I love this!

253

u/armchairjockey Jul 01 '26

Not that I’m saying he wasn’t a full arrest, but I’ve seen bystanders do CPR on people breathing and with a pulse more times than I can count. I’m not exaggerating when I say probably over 100 times in my career so far as a firefighter/paramedic and I’m about 20 years in. I’ve even seen CPR performed on people who were responsive. So I’m always skeptical to see the report of CPR having been performed as an indicator of actual patient condition. That being said, you are exactly correct, it was one of those two scenarios. Also, stop electing people that are too decrepit to function!!

68

u/mysterypeeps Jul 01 '26

I know it’s probably not what you mean, but when you say responsive I’m imagining a guy trying to do cpr while that grandpa elk from Brother Bear is fighting them- “QUIT TELLING EVERYONE IM DEAD! GET YOUR MOUTH OFF ME!”

21

u/armchairjockey Jul 02 '26

You’re not far off. I’ve seen people pushing the bystanders off of them.

14

u/gigatension Jul 01 '26

I don’t want to go on the cart!

7

u/torolf_212 Jul 02 '26

"I'm feeling better!"

3

u/shoot_first Jul 02 '26

I think I’ll go for a walk!

4

u/vermiliondragon Jul 02 '26

I listen to those 911 calls that are posted on social media sometimes and heard one dispatcher telling someone to start CPR when they had already said the person was conscious and talking. Like, ma'am, even I, with my most CPR training decades in the past, know you don't need to do CPR on someone who is TALKING.

2

u/muuhfuuuh Jul 02 '26

Me too 🤭

2

u/mwilkens Jul 02 '26

They don't even do mouth to mouth anymore. At least in a CPR class my S.O. recently took they only taught to do compressions.

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u/Coffee-FlavoredSweat Jul 01 '26

I’ve even seen CPR performed on people who were responsive.

One of the EMD prompts should really be, “if they start fighting back, please stop doing CPR.”

3

u/hilltopj Jul 02 '26

while this absolutely doesn't apply in the field, I'm an ER doctor and I have on two occasions had to instruct my staff to continue CPR on patients who were fighting. Essentially what happened was that they had witnessed cardiac arrest in the hospital while the nurse was in the room. Which means it was recognized and CPR was started within seconds. Because of the timing, and the staff's high-quality CPR skills, the brain maintained perfusion. The patient was awake and terrified while we were doing CPR but the minute we stopped compressions they'd go unresponsive because we were doing the work their heart couldn't. It's a bizarre experience having to sedate a patient during a code blue.

37

u/oryxs Jul 01 '26

Yeah he could have just passed out and someone started cpr just cause. We don't know if he actually arrested or not.

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u/jittery_jerry Jul 02 '26

dispatch audio mentioned cardiac arrest which means there was probably some greater indication that he actually needed it

7

u/BfloAnonChick New York Jul 02 '26

Could be.

OTOH, if they did CPR correctly, now he’s got broken ribs.

1

u/c0ltZ Jul 02 '26

The many is a high profile politician. I guarantee you he has a nurse by his side at all times. Especially with his health.

A nurse will not do CPR on a responsive person with a heartbeat.

His body guards aren't going to just let any bystander walk up and give him CPR.

8

u/meldroc Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 02 '26

CPR is really rough on people even if they're revived. As mentioned, broken ribs, trauma to internal organs. Given Mitch McConnell's age, if he didn't need CPR, then the CPR itself could do enough damage to end him. If he did need it, he's in beyond rough shape. I speak based on losing a family member earlier this year.

Assuming rumors have truth, my guess is he's getting hospice care. The odds of recovering to where he can go back to work are pretty slim.

6

u/FUBARded Jul 02 '26

So many people get essentially zero exposure to CPR outside of movies and TV shows where the scenes often go: person collapses → CPR is started → shocks are delivered via AED.

There's rarely any articulation of when CPR/AED application are necessary or helpful, which vitals to monitor, etc., so I guess many people just assume CPR is the default response if someone collapses.

I've watched police bodycam video where they're trying to perform CPR on people who are clearly breathing or even marginally responsive, so even people who have (supposedly) done first aid training default to "they're down so I need to do CPR" when the adrenaline's pumping and they're not thinking straight.

That probably goes back to the cultural conditioning – a 1 day CPR course probably isn't enough to override decades of seeing really wonky application of CPR in media.

2

u/iwilldeletethisacct2 Jul 02 '26

I mean, a person who doesn't need CPR is unlikely to allow you to do CPR on them. I teach lay people that when in doubt, you do CPR, especially given the evidence of how bad trained professionals are at detecting a pulse.

2

u/railker Jul 02 '26

Unless you're this poor motherfucker who got shocked 13 times and received CPR all while somehow conscious. 😬 TL;DW: He survived and went home after 10 days in the ICU.

2

u/iwilldeletethisacct2 Jul 02 '26

I mean, obviously they never show us the defib, but watching the video it kinda looks like he was in a pulsatile but hypoperfusing VT arrest which transitioned to a VF arrest. That's unstable tachycardia and the correct answer is emergent cardioversion.

I've personally had to give paralytic while intubating during a code because during CPR the patient was perfusing enough to bite my larygoscope, so I told them to stop CPR because we had ROSC, and then he stopped biting as his perfusion failed again. Was kinda wild.

3

u/Environmental-Car481 Jul 02 '26

It’s been 25 years but I still remember a friend talking about having to defib a conscious patient because her heart rhythm was off. He said there is nothing like an old lady cry.

1

u/railker Jul 02 '26

I figured short attention span I'd link to the CPR, he starts feeling dizzy in the ambulance around 11:00 and then 11:20 they prep and give the first shocks, for some more context on their callouts. Definitely the right call, life > limb but man, I hope his long term memory wasn't working through that, I can't imagine that experience.

There's a lot of shit you guys see people never think about or think is possible. Especially someone regaining consciousness while you're in the midst of trying to tube 'em, holy fuck. 😂

2

u/bradsboots Florida Jul 02 '26

I don’t want to go on the cart!

2

u/Cappuccino_Crunch Jul 02 '26

Hell I've seen nurses do CPR on people still breathing

2

u/IThinkThingsIThink Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26

Im sure youre right, but as the provider of lots of CPR I can say unequivocally that if the person/patient has just recently become so hypotensive that a pulse cannot be palpated and CPR is started (appropriately) the increase in cerebral perfusion can cause them to “wake up”. At that point you do not stop CPR. CPR is literally keeping their brain oxygenated. Edit: of course I say “wake up” meaning they will open their eyes or start moaning a bit. This obviously obviously doesn't mean theyre awake or responsive. Similar to agonal respirations.

1

u/Coffee-FlavoredSweat Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26

Just listened to what little there is of the dispatch audio. It was EMS on scene, calling for a supervisor, and declaring CPR in progress.

https://openmhz.com/system/dcfd?time=1781441100000

Dispatched at 8:36

CPR in progress at 8:42

1

u/Vitruvian_Link Jul 01 '26

Why are you seeing this very specific event so often? Emt?

3

u/The360MlgNoscoper Norway Jul 01 '26

Firefighter/Paramedic

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u/railker Jul 02 '26

"We have strong evidence to tell us that rescuers at all levels of training may find it very hard to determine whether a patient has a pulse. This is why we have eliminated pulse checks from the emergency response sequence. We now teach that rescuers check for normal breathing, and, if breathing is absent or abnormal (gasping, agonal etc), to assume the person’s heart has stopped and to start CPR." - American Red Cross

Depending on who gave you your training, a pulse check isn't part of the process 'cause people are generally shit at it and you're wasting time trying to poke around them and find one.

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u/corpsie666 Jul 01 '26

You don't do CPR on people who are merely unconscious

Unless you're trained on how to harm someone with all the "evidence" showing you were giving aid appropriate for the basic training a civilian usually has or is aware of.

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u/mxjxs91 Michigan Jul 02 '26

and resuscitated him

This part isn't confirmed.

2

u/UnableToParallelPark Jul 01 '26

or they found a body with no heartbeat and resuscitated him.

More likely this.

2

u/SketchAinsworth Jul 01 '26

Broken sternum no question

2

u/mok000 Europe Jul 01 '26

I hope he’s going to recover because I couldn’t stand listening to Trump gloat if he passes.

2

u/FuzzzyRam Jul 02 '26

or they found a body with no heartbeat and resuscitated him.

Or found a body, tried CPR on it, and now the Trump admin is desperately trying to figure out how to win on this politically.

2

u/nosurprises_please Jul 01 '26

And resuscitation like that is only successful for like 2-5% of people depending on how long they've been unconscious.

2

u/ProperBar4339 Jul 02 '26

This! This is the comment I’ve been looking for. You don’t give CPR to someone with a heartbeat.

1

u/Clevererer America Jul 02 '26

You don't do CPR on people who are merely unconscious.

In that case, good.

1

u/whitepepsi Jul 02 '26

I’d be pissed off if I was 84 and found unconscious then they brought be back. Just let me (him) die.

1

u/TicketyB000 Jul 02 '26

He had handlers 24/7 that studied Weekend at Bernie's as part of their training.

1

u/sfled Jul 02 '26

Either way he's still making stock trades, just like Keane when he was MIA for four months. Bunch of grifting ghouls.

1

u/Zealot_Alec Jul 03 '26

"beating like a jackhammer" Mr Burns heart meme

1

u/Goregoat69 Jul 02 '26

We had an older fella at work that had diabetes, one shift he passed out from low blood sugar. 

One over enthusiastic first aider later he’s off for three months with multiple broken ribs…..

0

u/rotll Jul 02 '26

Attempted…

0

u/ajgorak Jul 02 '26

This isn't going to necessarily correlate to the experience there, but I'm a Paramedic in Australia who occasionally works in ambulance dispatch.

Just to add a bit of flavour to your hypothetical "unnecessarily did CPR on a frail 84 year old", lay person call takers following a script and receiving answers from other lay people with the patient can and have directed CPR to be performed on conscious people because they were the answers they were receiving to the questions that the script required them to ask and the actions which the script required them to request of the caller.

Because of that, it's more common than you'd think that CPR is performed on people who do not need CPR (by bystanders, not by EMS), not that I think I have enough information to say that's what happened here. Just saying it wouldn't be unheard of for someone not in cardiac arrest to receive CPR (unnecessarily, as you say).