McConnell would ‘absolutely’ support Trump if he was 2024 Republican pick
AFTER former president Donald Trump was acquitted by the Senate earlier this month, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell excoriated him for his role in inciting a violent mob of supporters to storm the Capitol.
He said there was no question Mr Trump was “practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day”.
The divide between the two deepened days later when Mr
Trump described Mr McConnell in a lengthy diatribe as “a political hack” who lacked “political insight, wisdom, skill, and personality”.
Yet in an interview with Fox News’s Bret Baier, Mr McConnell has signalled that he would not let the growing rift between him and the former president get in the way of the Republicans reclaiming the White House.
Asked by Mr Baier whether the Senate minority leader would support Mr Trump if he won the party’s presidential nomination in 2024, Mr
McConnell offered a succinct reply: “Absolutely.”
Mr McConnell’s interview is his latest attempt to show unity in the party, which since the election has confronted a growing divide between Trump-loyal Republicans and the more traditional party members.
Mr McConnell, who ultimately did not vote to convict in the January impeachment trial, was a crucial ally to Mr Trump during his presidency, helping him push through massive tax cuts, three Supreme Court justices and
‘It’s the latest attempt to show unity in the party’
an ambitious number of judicial nominations that will alter federal courts for decades.
In his interview with Fox News on Thursday, Mr McConnell refrained from offering negative comments about the former president. When Mr Baier asked what Mr McConnell thought about Mr Trump speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando this weekend, the GOP leader said he had no opinion on Mr Trump’s attendance or his speech.
Instead, Mr McConnell attempted to put to bed claims of a civil war within the GOP.
“Having chosen the progressive route, [Biden] certainly made it a lot easier for me to unify my members in the opposition,” McConnell said. “The Republican Party is actually in very good shape.”
But when Mr Baier pressed Mr McConnell on the prospects of Mr Trump running for president again, the GOP leader posited that Mr Trump wouldn’t be the only one in the race.
“There’s a lot to happen between now and ‘24,” Mr McConnell said. “I’ve got at least four members, I think, that are planning on running for president, as well as governors and others.
“There is no incumbent. Should be a wide-open race and fun for you all to cover.”