Trump on McConnell: ‘I don’t know if I can work with him’
Former President Donald Trump said he doesn’t know that he could work with Mitch McConnell if he returns to the White House and the Kentuckian remains as the Senate GOP’s leader come 2025.
“He’ll probably end up endorsing me. I don’t know that I can work with him,” Trump said during a Fox News town hall with Laura Ingraham Tuesday night.
McConnell has already said he’ll support the former president in 2024, without publicly showing preference towards a specific candidate. His bitter relationship with Trump turned particularly sour following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot in 2021, but McConnell has since attempted to avoid commenting on the former president to avoid inflaming an undercurrent of hostilities between the two.
Earlier this month, McConnell described Trump as the “likely nominee” in an interview with Punchbowl News.
In the town hall with Igraham, Trump again took issue with the Kentucky Republican’s handling of the Senate with Democrats in the majority.
“He gave away trillions of dollars that he didn’t have to, trillions of dollars. He made it very easy for the Democrats,” Trump charged.
McConnell has not yet indicated if he’ll seek another term as GOP leader following the 2024 election in November, when Republicans could win back the Senate.
He also has been mum on running for another six-year-term in 2026. Campaign finance records show he still has $8 million in the bank to use for another political campaign if he chooses to run again, though his health could be a factor in that decision.
Trump-aligned Republicans have elevated their attacks on McConnell in recent weeks as conservatives bucked a foreign aid package that contains billions of dollars for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
“Mitch McConnell is working with Biden & the Democrats to jam Ukraine funding down our throats while our own border stays wide open,” Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s eldest son, said on X.com (formerly Twitter) Wednesday.
Several of McConnell’s colleagues have vocally called for his ouster following the bipartisan negotiations attempting to tie tougher border restrictions to money for Ukraine to fight Russia.
McConnell, who turned 82 Tuesday, again reiterated his support for the foreign aid passed by the Senate and is now awaiting action by the House, which may choose not to hold a vote on the legislation.
“What has been lost in all of the debate over the Senate’s legislation is this simple truth: By standing with our friend Ukraine and supporting their fight for freedom, we can degrade Russia’s military capabilities, the third largest military force in the world, without risking the life of a single American soldier,” McConnell wrote in a column.
