McConnell ‘Working Furiously’ to ‘Thwart’ Trump’s Influence in the Senate: Report
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Over the weekend both the New York Times and the Washington Post published reports detailing infighting in the Republican Party, focused on internal efforts to weaken former President Donald Trump’s grip on the party.
The Times reported Saturday Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is “working furiously to bring allies to Washington who will buck” Trump.
“In conversations with senators and would-be senators, Mr. McConnell is blunt about the damage he believes Mr. Trump has done to the G.O.P., according to those who have spoken to him,” the Times reported, adding, that “McConnell and his allies are quietly, desperately maneuvering to try to thwart him.”
“Privately, he has declared he won’t let unelectable ‘goofballs’ win Republican primaries,” the Times reported.
Trump appeared to hit back at the article on Sunday. In a statement, Trump defended his record on endorsing candidates, saying, “I am almost unblemished in the victory count, and it is considered by the real pollsters to be the strongest endorsement in U.S. political history.”
“There are plenty of existing politicians who wouldn’t be in power now were it not for my Endorsement (like the Old Crow!),” Trump added, once again using the nickname he has given McConnell in recent months while attacking the Kentucky Republican.
McConnell’s efforts in rebuking Trump are largely centered around Trump’s controversial endorsements, which included candidates that many establishment Republicans fear can’t win general elections.
The Times notes that Trump has “made a handful of endorsements in contentious races, but his choices have not cleared the Republican field, and one has dropped out.”
McConnell has firmly put his support behind multiple Republican incumbents that Trump is actively working to remove or has threatened to support a primary challenge against.
Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and John Thune (R-SD), for example, are two key incumbents that Trump and McConnell are split on.
The Times details McConnell’s motivations in retaining more moderate, establishment Senators, noting that Trump is actively working to remove McConnell as leader:
Trump has made clear he wants the Senate candidates he backs to oust Mr. McConnell from his leadership perch, and even considered making a pledge to do so a condition of his endorsement. Few have done so to date, a fact Mr. McConnell considers a victory. ‘Only two of them have taken me on,’ he crowed, alluding to Ms. Tshibaka in Alaska, and Eric Greitens, the former Missouri governor running for an open seat.
As the 2022 midterms elections heat up, the divide within the GOP appears to only grow larger. The Washington Post noted on Sunday that Trump is also facing challenges on the local level as state party officials refused to go along with controversial Trump-backed candidates.
The Post explains:
Clashes between Republican leaders and the candidates Trump has embraced have been playing out across the country with growing ferocity in recent months, a chaotic sign that Trump’s once unchallenged hold on the party and rank-and-file supporters is waning, even if by degrees.
