Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell criticized former president Donald Trump for political extremism for the second time in as many weeks and claimed that it will make it even more difficult for him to win the presidency in 2024.
Trump suggested that the U.S. Constitution be repealed and that he be re-elected as president. Mitch McConnell disagreed, saying that someone who holds such a view “would have a very difficult time getting sworn in as president of the United States.
Trump’s dinner with an ardent white nationalist last week drew criticism from Mitch McConnell, who would not say whether he would back Trump if the Republicans nominated him again in two years.
Mitch McConnell Does Not Support Trump’s Views
The Senate GOP leader was reluctant to address Trump’s views on the U.S. Constitution until he started a news conference with a brief statement after a Republican lunch meeting. Other GOP leaders were similarly reserved. The animosity between Trump and McConnell—who have frequently disagreed over the direction of the Republican Party—will only rise in the wake of GOP defeats in the midterm elections and Trump’s declaration that he will run for president again in 2024.
Trump referred to Mitch McConnell as “a failure” last week in response to McConnell criticizing the former president for hosting a dinner with white nationalist Nick Fuentes. McConnell joined a slowly growing chorus of Republicans who disapproved of Trump’s strange demand that the U.S. Constitution be “terminated” and his election as president due to claimed irregularities in the 2020 election.
Despite Trump’s continued false accusations, several audits, court lawsuits, and investigations have not shown any significant voter fraud in the 2020 election. The majority of Republicans were slow to reply to Trump’s statement, but a few did when reporters questioned them on Sunday talk shows and after many had returned to Washington, D.C., for congressional business.
Trump’s re-nomination as president is “increasingly less likely given words like that,” according to Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, who branded the statement “irresponsible.”
