Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is seeking to end his feud with former Pres. Donald Trump which escalated last weekend.
McConnell Seeks To End Feud With Trump
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is attempting to end his running feud with President Trump, which erupted this weekend after the former president called him a "dumb son of a bitch" and a "stone-cold loser" for not supporting his bogus election statements, according to a recently published article in The Hill.
Trump's remarks were particularly venomous because they were highly reported and came only one day after Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), presented Trump with a "Champion of Freedom Award" at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.
Last Saturday evening, Trump lashed out at McConnell at a Republican donor gathering, blaming him for Republicans losing the White House. Trump said "If that were Schumer instead of this .... Mitch McConnell they would never allow it to happen. They would have fought it."
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McConnell Released a Statement
McConnell said on Tuesday that he doesn't want to get into a war with Trump and is more concerned with uniting the Republican Party to resist what he calls President Biden's "far-left" policy, according to a published report in Reuters.
McConnell told reporters "What I'm concentrating on is the future and what we are confronted with here is a totally left-wing administration, with a slight majority in the House, a 50-50 Senate trying to transform America into something no one voted for last year."
McConnell indicated on Tuesday that he is not interested in renewing his rivalry with Trump, which has been simmering since Dec. 15, when he last talked to the former president to remind him that he had acknowledged Biden as the president-elect. The Electoral College officially voted the previous day, Dec. 14, to make Biden the 46th President of the United States.
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Senate Minority Whip Confirmed McConnell's Interest To End the Feud
McConnell's top leader, Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.), said on Tuesday that the Senate Republican leader has little ill will against Trump and wishes the feud to end. That is one reason McConnell did not take the bait at a news conference and retaliated against Trump's personal assault, according to a published report in News Voice.
Thune said Tuesday "Right now, it's sort of a one-sided thing. The leader has no animosity and he's made it very clear he wants to work with the president to get the majority back."
Meanwhile, many Republican senators consider Trump's comments on McConnell to be cruel and out of bounds, but few, if any, are willing to threaten the former president's wrath - or the wrath of his ardent followers - by calling him out.
On the other hand, McConnell and other GOP leaders continue to see Trump as critical to energizing the Republican base and motivating rural and working-class white voters who don't always vote.
