Former president Donald Trump is out for revenge at all costs against Republicans who haven't marched in lockstep with him — including Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, according to Daily Beast columnist Margaret Carlson.
"Trump doesn't care so much if the party wins back the House and Senate so long as he gets his revenge on those who didn't worship ardently enough at his altar," Carlson writes. "That is, he cares more about the GOP remaining 'his party' than he does about the GOP actually doing well enough to reclaim Congress."
Carlson points to Trump's efforts to "depose" McConnell, even as the Senate GOP leader threatens to do the former president's bidding — and wreak havoc on the global economy — by refusing to raise the debt ceiling.
"While there was a brief spot of sunlight after McConnell was shocked by the Jan. 6 violence, holding Trump 'morally responsible,' he quickly returned to the fold to stand behind a loser who remains the uncontested leader of the Republican party despite costing it the White House and both Houses of Congress," Carlson writes. "Although McConnell hasn't gone all-in on Mar-a-Lago's Big Lie by saying that Joe Biden stole the election, he comes close by swearing to be '100 percent' focused on 'stopping' the current occupant of the Oval Office."
But even if McConnell follows through with his threat to "go nuclear' on the debt ceiling — and insiders say he isn't bluffing — it won't be good enough for Trump.
McConnell "knows that raising the debt limit is something real patriots are obligated to do, kind of like the vice president certifying the election," Carlson writes. But he "also knows that if the debt ceiling is raised, nothing much happens and his audience of one will be bored."
"If it isn't lifted, all financial hell breaks loose and that same audience will be riveted. If the U.S. were a person, its credit rating would be cut to zero and Biden's economy will crater. What boffo television!" Carlson writes. "Still, does Mitch really want to be remembered for the McConnell Default and as Trump's lap dog when, no matter how low he goes, Trump will still try to deprive him of the best view in Washington?"