KY Sen. Mitch McConnell called President Donald Trump a ‘stupid, narcissist,’ book says
New revelations of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s private thoughts on former President Donald Trump reveal a vivid picture of disdain for a man he continues to publicly support.
McConnell described Trump in the aftermath of the 2020 election as “stupid as well as being ill-tempered,” a “despicable human being” and a “narcissist,” according to excerpts of a new forthcoming book released to the Associated Press.
“The Price of Power,” authored by Michael Tackett, deputy Washington bureau chief of The Associated Press, draws from nearly 30 years of McConnell’s personal oral histories and extensive interviews.
In a statement released through a spokesperson after this story published, McConnell did not deny the account.
“Whatever I may have said about President Trump pales in comparison to what JD Vance, Lindsey Graham and others have said about him,” he said. “But we are all on the same team now.”
McConnell’s biting characterizations stand in stark contrast to the Kentuckian’s public stance, highlighting the complex and often contentious relationship between the two titans of the modern Republican Party.
The timing of these revelations is particularly significant, coming as Trump seeks a return to the White House and McConnell finishes his final month as GOP leader. Democrats are likely to seize upon McConnell’s words as further ammunition for their case that Trump is unfit for the nation’s highest office.
McConnell’s private musings also shed light on the tumultuous period following the 2020 election.
As Trump actively contested the results, McConnell expressed concern that these actions would harm Republican chances in the crucial Georgia Senate runoffs.
In his oral history, McConnell remarked that “it’s not just the Democrats who are counting the days” until Trump’s departure from office. He praised the American people’s judgment in voting Trump out, citing “misrepresentations” and “outright lies almost on a daily basis” as reasons for Trump’s electoral defeat in 2020.
Despite these harsh private criticisms, McConnell has publicly endorsed Trump’s 2024 presidential bid, stating that his support for the Republican nominee “should come as no surprise.”
The revelation of McConnell’s comments adds another layer to the already contentious relationship between the two Republican leaders.
Trump has not shied away from criticizing McConnell, once labeling him “a dour, sullen and unsmiling political hack.”
Prior books have chronicled McConnell’s private failed scheme to get Republicans to vote for Trump’s conviction in his Senate impeachment trial and describing the former president as a “off-the-track thoroughbred.”
Despite McConnell’s heralded political acumen, these private accounts demonstrate that he was wholly unprepared for Trump’s enduring popularity.
This story was originally published October 17, 2024 at 1:40 PM.
