McConnell appears speechless during a 1:23 question

(CNN) -- What happened was an excruciating moment of helplessness for one of Washington's most powerful men.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's words were exhausted and he froze, froze, remaining silent and staring straight ahead for about 30 painful seconds in the middle of a press conference on Wednesday; This is the second time he has had to endure such an awkward ordeal in front of the camera since July. It's unclear if it's happened more times away from the public eye. But for a proud senator who has dominated the chamber for many years, the momentary loss of lucidity is, to say the least, embarrassing and could become a growing political problem.

The 81-year-old Kentucky Republican was able to resume his remarks, hesitantly answering a question about the Commonwealth gubernatorial race, and then attended a fundraiser for a Senate candidate. But his misfortune immediately reignited doubts about his health and age, especially since he suffered a concussion in a fall earlier this year. His office insisted Wednesday that the veteran senator had simply felt "momentarily dizzy."

More broadly, Wednesday's events refocused attention on one of the trends defining American politics today: older people who have no intention of leaving top positions in the U.S. government, including 80-year-old President Joe Biden and a former president who wants to regain power: Donald Trump, 77. Also in the Senate, Dianne Feinstein, 90, of California, has been ill and has shown apparent cognitive impairment in public in recent months.

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Mitch McConnell was paralyzed in front of reporters in July 2023.

The question of whether someone is too old to serve is uncomfortable, as it involves discussing issues of private health and mortality. And in Feinstein's case, some have complained that the demands for him to leave his job are sexist, as many older senators (such as the late Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, who was 99 when he retired from the House, and the late Robert Byrd of West Virginia, who was 92 when he died in office in 2010, He did not face similar calls to resign.

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But since Biden, McConnell and Feinstein are public officials, voters are entitled to a high level of transparency.

Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a cardiologist and professor at George Washington University, told CNN's Erica Hill on Wednesday that his heart was with McConnell, but that the senator's position means he owes his constituents details about his health.

"The senator is really the senior member of his group in a very tightly controlled United States Senate and concerns about his health really resonate with the public, so I think they should be a little more transparent about how he's doing right now," said Reiner, also a CNN medical analyst.

• Sen. Mitch McConnell has suffered several falls this year, sources say.

Why did Mitch McConnell not speak? 6:12

The question of age that Biden will not be able to dodge

The higher the position, the more important transparency becomes. Biden, for example, would be 86 when his second term ends, representing his greatest vulnerability in the 2024 election.

An Associated Press-NORC poll released this week found that 77% of Americans think Biden is too old to be effective for four more years. Surprisingly, at a time when important issues divide along party lines, 69% of Democrats shared that view. However, only about half of American adults said Trump was too old to be effective, even though he would be in his 80s at the end of the second non-consecutive term he intends to win next year. Trump's frenzied behavior and his often unhinged public appearances seem to somehow obscure questions about his age.

Republicans and the conservative media push a consistent narrative that Biden is confused, old and senile. Episodes like the time he fell off his bike in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, only contributed to this criticism and made the president the object of ridicule from the right.

• "Biden remains healthy and vigorous," medical report says

Joe Biden falls off the bike; White House says he's fine 0:33

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre's struggle to address the issue in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper this week illustrated just how difficult the campaign will be. Tapper told Jean-Pierre she was diverting the conversation to Biden's record while he wanted her to answer questions about the president's "age and stamina" and how he had aged in perhaps the most demanding job in the world. Jean-Pierre highlighted Biden's visit to the war zone in Ukraine earlier this year and claimed that some much younger reporters in the White House press corps were having trouble keeping up with the president.

Biden is in generally good health and his doctors say he is fit to do his job. But his age and acuity are already an issue in the 2024 campaign. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, for example, is proposing a mental competency test for politicians over 75 as she pleads with Americans in her Republican primary campaign to embrace a new generation of leadership. His plan wouldn't just involve Biden; it would also conveniently catch Trump, the Republican Party favorite.

Haley is also among the first Republicans to coin a phrase that will be heard frequently next year: that a second Biden term would increase the likelihood that unpopular Vice President Kamala Harris, who is one step away from the presidency, will get the top job. "I think we can all be very clear and say for sure that if you vote for Joe Biden, you're really counting on Harris to be president, because the idea that she would make it to 86 is not something that I think is likely," Haley told Fox News in April, in comments that seemed in pretty bad taste but raised a valid political argument.

Where are the younger leaders?

In a way, the question of age is a product of social and medical advances: people generally live longer now than they did 100 years ago. Seeing older people doing stressful and responsible jobs can inspire admiration.

However, the age of some key leaders raises the question of whether their refusal to ride into the twilight is thwarting the rise of a new generation of politicians or whether younger figures in both parties lack the talent and drive to sideline them. Similar questions arose before a generational shift in Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives after the last election, when Speaker Nancy Pelosi, now 83, and her longtime lieutenant, Rep. Steny Hoyer, now 84, handed over the reins of leadership. The price of staying in power for too long was underscored by many Democrats when Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at the age of 87 in 2020, opening a vacancy that McConnell rushed to fill just before the 2020 election.

But many leaders have spent decades accumulating power and therefore may be reluctant to give up everything they've worked for. Biden, for example, spent nearly 50 years in Washington before being elected president, leading some to say he shouldn't be barred from running for a second term if he otherwise feels well. The Senate's seniority system means that numerous six-year terms can be needed for someone to accumulate real authority and win prominent committee chairs. As with the presidency, there is a constitutional minimum age to be in the House of Representatives, but there is no similar restriction regarding the upper age limit.

It's one thing for a powerful senator to have a scare. However, the presidency is on another level. If Biden, should he win a second term, experiences a McConnell-like moment, questions about the continuity of American leadership would reverberate around the world and offer opportunities for American adversaries.

• The slow pace of Biden's re-election campaign drives Democrats' anxiety ahead of 2024

McConnell seeks to downplay the incident

McConnell will come under even greater scrutiny when the Senate returns to work next week after Labor Day. The Capitol titan is known for his slow walk — the legacy of a childhood polio attack — but lately it's become painfully clear that his age is showing.

His plight will also increase speculation about whether he plans to remain leader after the 2024 election, when he hopes to regain a majority, or whether he will stand for re-election two years later. Even more than after the previous July incident, you must now consider what Kentucky voters deserve to know about your health.

McConnell acted quickly Wednesday to prevent his episode from becoming an issue that could threaten his longtime leadership position, which he has skillfully exercised through successive Republican majorities and minorities. His main achievement has been to build the conservative majority on the Supreme Court that is likely to outlive him for a long time.

He was soon on the phone after his moment of paralysis, apparently seeking to minimize the political fallout. A spokesperson for Sen. Shelley Moore Capito told CNN's Manu Raju that the West Virginia Republican spoke with McConnell and that "it sounded good." Republican leader John Thune also spoke with the leader, who "sounded like usual and was in good spirits," said the spokesman for the South Dakota senator.

An aide said McConnell "feels fine" but would be examined by a doctor before his next event "as a prudential measure." Later, the leader attended a fundraiser for Rep. Jim Banks' Senate bid, where a source told CNN's Raju that the leader was "very focused" on the Indiana Republican's campaign.

Being old has almost never been a disqualification in the Senate, a chamber where incumbents typically serve well beyond the retirement age of most Americans. Cheerful Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley won another term in 2022 and shows little sign of slowing down at 89. However, Feinstein's situation shows the possibility that staying in the Senate at an advanced age could create an unworthy coda for a great career. The California Democrat has appeared confused at times, questioning the length of her absence and her diagnoses. At a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in late July, the panel's chairman had to ask Feinstein to vote "yes."

Concerns about Feinstein's health grew earlier this year, along with demands for greater responsibility, after she was hospitalized with shingles. His long absence from Capitol Hill was also a complication for Democrats given their slim majority in the Senate. In a surprising move, several Democratic members of the House called for Feinstein, who has already said he will not run for re-election next year, to resign. A very competitive primary to choose his seat is already underway.

It is not the twilight of a political career that Feinstein, a pioneering politician, would have preferred. But it also highlights the sensitivity of knowing when to resign, a question McConnell could also be forced to face soon.

Mitch McConnellUnited States Senate