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Politics and Government News
Barbara Sprunt, NPR

Trump blasts McConnell and his leadership in lengthy response to recent criticism

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Former President Donald Trump, seen here speaking to supporters on Jan. 20, attacked Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in a statement Tuesday evening.
Former President Donald Trump, seen here speaking to supporters on Jan. 20, attacked Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in a statement Tuesday evening.
Pete Marovich/Getty Images

In a highly personal attack, former President Donald Trump blasted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, calling him an unfit leader of the Republican Party.

"The Republican Party can never again be respected or strong with political 'leaders' like Sen. Mitch McConnell at its helm," Trump said in a lengthy statement Tuesday.

"Mitch is a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack, and if Republican Senators are going to stay with him, they will not win again," he added.

The statement comes three days after McConnell voted to acquit the former president in his second impeachment trial but then condemned him for his actions on the day of the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

In remarks on the Senate floor after the vote Saturday, McConnell said Trump was "practically and morally responsible" for the insurrection. McConnell said he voted to acquit nonetheless because of constitutional concerns about trying a former president.

The Kentucky Republican also released a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Monday doubling down on his rhetoric against Trump, saying he "bears moral responsibility" for the insurrection.

The back-and-forth between two main figureheads of the GOP underscores the deep rift in the Republican Party.

"Where necessary and appropriate, I will back primary rivals who espouse Making America Great Again and our policy of America First," Trump said in his statement.

Trump said McConnell only won his November election because of Trump's endorsement and seemed to attribute the twin losses for Republicans in the Georgia runoff elections to McConnell's decision not to cosign Trump's proposal of the $2,000 direct payments as part of coronavirus relief.

"McConnell matched the Democrat offer of $2,000 stimulus checks with $600. How does that work? It became the Democrats' principal advertisement, and a big winner for them it was," Trump said.

Many Republicans have actually pointed to Trump as a reason for the pair of GOP losses in Georgia, which ceded control of the U.S. Senate to Democrats.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.