Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump have not always seen eye to eye, but if there’s one person who the Republican leader of the Senate dislikes more than the 45th president, it’s the 46th president.
During the honeymoon phase of the Biden presidency, the media tried to make it seem that McConnell and Biden were longtime friends, not ideological enemies who sometimes negotiated.
Anyone who’d been around Washington knew how ludicrous that was, and even Barack Obama made fun of the media for it. Politico wrote, “I’m enjoying reading now about how Joe Biden and Mitch have been friends for a long time,” the former president quipped after the 2020 election. “They’ve known each other for a long time.”
Now, the longtime Kentucky senator has twisted the knife once again, backing the man who’d attacked his wife over Biden.
McConnell unveiled the endorsement only after news broke that former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R), Trump’s final remaining primary opponent, was dropping out of the race following Trump’s big wins on Super Tuesday, writes The Hill.
“It is abundantly clear that former President Trump has earned the requisite support of Republican voters to be our nominee for President of the United States. It should come as no surprise that as nominee, he will have my support,” McConnell said.
“During his Presidency, we worked together to accomplish great things for the American people including tax reform that supercharged our economy and a generational change of our federal judiciary – most importantly, the Supreme Court. I look forward to the opportunity of switching from playing defense against the terrible policies the Biden administration has pursued to a sustained offense geared towards making a real difference in improving the lives of the American people.”
The move comes after back-channel talks in recent weeks between the top lieutenants for the two GOP behemoths — Chris LaCivita, Trump’s campaign manager; and Josh Holmes, McConnell’s longtime top political aide.
This is Mitch McConnell’s last rodeo. The former Senate Majority Leader announced that he will be stepping aside from his position in November, passing the baton to a younger generation of leaders.
Fox News reported that “a top contender to step into McConnell’s role took himself out of the running Tuesday, instead choosing to make a bid for the No. 2 position in the conference – Republican whip. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., told Fox News Digital he was fully focused on his own race when asked about possible new Republican leaders.
The senator said, ‘time will tell,’ whether several more Republicans will join the race for leader.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, announced his bid for leader the day after McConnell’s surprise announcement, saying in a statement: ‘I am asking my Republican colleagues to give me the opportunity to succeed Leader McConnell.’
In a Monday interview, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., currently the Republican whip, said he is hoping to become the next Republican leader. ‘I hope to be, and I’m going to do everything I can to convince my colleagues,’ he told local news outlet Keloland.com.”
McConnell recently turned 82 in February.
