Get PolitiFact in your inbox.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is seen with a bandaged cheek and wrist brace following a stumble and fall earlier at lunch, at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP) Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is seen with a bandaged cheek and wrist brace following a stumble and fall earlier at lunch, at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is seen with a bandaged cheek and wrist brace following a stumble and fall earlier at lunch, at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP)

Sofia Ahmed
By Sofia Ahmed December 13, 2024

Edited video shows Mitch McConnell with bandaged head

If Your Time is short

  • The video has been edited from a July 26, 2023, press conference during which Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell suddenly stopped speaking while delivering remarks.

  • McConnell was not wearing a head bandage during that conference.

  • McConnell sustained minor injury to his face and hand following a Dec. 10 fall at the U.S. Capitol, his office said. He was photographed wearing a Band-Aid on his cheek and a brace on his hand.

See the sources for this fact-check

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., tripped at the Capitol Dec. 10 and sustained minor injuries. A video shared on social media purported to show McConnell speaking to reporters afterward.

"Senator, is your head okay after that fall?" someone asked in a Dec. 12 Instagram video. McConnell, shown in the video with a bandage wrapped around his head, stared ahead blankly without responding.

Screenshot from X

Featured Fact-check

The Instagram post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.) We also saw it being shared on TikTok and X.

But this video has been manipulated. It comes from an unrelated and widely covered July 26, 2023, press conference during which McConnell suddenly stopped speaking. In the unedited video of the Capitol Hill scene, McConnell wasn’t wearing a head bandage nor did a reporter ask him about his fall.

Photos of McConnell after the Dec. 10 accident showed him with a Band-Aid under his eye and a brace on his hand, not a bandage around his head.

We rate the claim that a video shows McConnell appearing in a press conference with his head bandaged False.

Read About Our Process

The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter

Our Sources

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Sofia Ahmed

Edited video shows Mitch McConnell with bandaged head

Load more

Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!

In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.

Sign me up