Trump Claims Dems ‘Have Something’ On McConnell
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has frequently come under attack from conservatives in his own party for his voting record, candidate endorsements and other controversial moves counter to the interests of conservatives.
Perhaps none of his Republican critics have been as consistent or emphatic as former President Donald Trump
In his latest public statement against McConnell, Trump called for his impeachment while suggesting that the Senate leader could align with Democrats to continue raising the nation’s debt ceiling.
Based on McConnell’s questionable record, the former president theorized that he is being blackmailed by the other party.
In a recent interview, Trump accused him of “scheming” with Democrats “to blow the debt ceiling up,” complaining that he has not stood up to big-spending liberals on Capitol Hill.
“I mean, they ought to impeach Mitch McConnell if he allows that,” Trump added. “Frankly, Mitch McConnell, something has to be — they have something on him. How he approves this thing is incredible.”
Of course, this was far from the first time that Trump has expressed deep disappointment with McConnell’s leadership.
In a social media post, he asked whether McConnell approved Democratic-backed spending “because he hates Donald J. Trump” or out of alignment with a far-left environmental agenda.
“In any event, either reason is unacceptable,” Trump added. “He has a DEATH WISH.”
McConnell has also attracted intraparty backlash in recent weeks for his support of incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) over her America First GOP rival Kelly Tshibaka.
As one anonymous Republican senator told NBC News, the move is one way that McConnell is hitting back at the former president without going on the record with a verbal retort.
“Mitch has really taken some actions to poke at Trump,” the lawmaker said, adding that the two GOP leaders “are really at war.”
Late last month, the Alaska Republican Party voted 49-8 to censure McConnell for spending millions on campaign ads attacking Tshibaka. Murkowski, his preferred candidate in the race, was one of just seven Republicans in the Senate who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial.
