With former President Donald Trump out of office, it’s become clear there is little love lost between him and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
During an interview on Monday, Trump made this clear once again, asserting that the Republican Party needs “better” and “stronger leadership” than it is currently receiving under McConnell, Breitbart reported.
GOP needs “better leadership”
Trump made the pointed remarks about McConnell during an interview with Fox News contributor Lisa Boothe for the premiere launch of her new podcast The Truth.
“I think we need better leadership than Mitch McConnell and stronger leadership,” Trump said. “I mean, he can’t rein in his own people.”
Asked if he had spoken with the Senate GOP leader recently, the former president replied, “Not really, I don’t really want to talk to him.”
McConnell “hanging by a thread”
Trump said McConnell is “hanging by a thread right now with respect to the filibuster,” the long-standing Senate rule that requires most legislation to reach a 60-vote threshold in order to advance.
The former president recalled asking McConnell to do away with the filibuster when Republicans maintained control of the Senate, as he predicted that Democrats would seek to do so once they reclaimed control of the upper chamber — which is exactly what Democrats are attempting to do now.
McConnell had refused to do so, insisting at the time that his Democratic colleagues would respect the time-honored tradition and leave the filibuster rule alone, only to now seemingly admit, albeit without directly saying so, that Trump’s prediction about the Democrats’ intentions were correct.
“Dour, sullen, and unsmiling”
Trump’s remarks on Boothe’s podcast echo his prior takedown of the top Senate Republican in a fiery statement issued in February in response to comments McConnell had made regarding Trump’s culpability in the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
“The Republican Party can never again be respected or strong with political ‘leaders’ like Sen. Mitch McConnell at its helm,” Trump said at that time. “McConnell’s dedication to business as usual, status quo policies, together with his lack of political insight, wisdom, skill, and personality, has rapidly driven him from Majority Leader to Minority Leader, and it will only get worse.”
“Mitch is a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack, and if Republican Senators are going to stay with him, they will not win again,” Trump continued. “He will never do what needs to be done, or what is right for our Country.”
Regardless of the fact that McConnell remains the undisputed leader of Senate Republicans, Trump still told Boothe that he believes the GOP is “going to do very well in ’22 and I think we’re going to do very well in ’24.”
The post Trump says Republicans need ‘better’ and ‘stronger leadership’ than Mitch McConnell first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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