Former President Donald Trump, the de-facto leader of the Republican Party, today called for the ouster of his party’s most powerful elected official: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky).
“Mitch McConnell is not an Opposition Leader, he is a pawn for the Democrats to get whatever they want,” Trump wrote in a statement. “He is afraid of them, and will not do what has to be done. A new Republican Leader in the Senate should be picked immediately!”
Trump calls on Mitch McConnell to step down or be replaced as Senate Republican Leader. pic.twitter.com/kAQwtccC7e
— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) August 24, 2022
Trump’s anti-McConnell rhetoric has waxed and waned ever since the Minority Leader denounced the former president for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Recently, McConnell expressed concerns about GOP “candidate quality” in the upcoming elections, where Trump has hand-picked a number of candidates.
Prior to today, Trump had aimed his attacks at McConnell’s wife of 29 years Elaine Chao, criticizing her family’s ties to China, where its shipping company does business. Those ties were well-known during Chao’s four-year tenure as secretary of transportation under Trump, who appointed her.
Today’s fusillade marks an escalation aimed directly at McConnell, even as four major investigations and a series of revelations threaten Trump.