McConnell is being strategic while trying to navigate the 'Trump Problem': ex-Senator
Former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) thinks the reason Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced the end of his reign is part of a strategy to deal with Donald Trump.
It was reported Tuesday that McConnell was in talks with Trump and his campaign about supporting the former president's 2024 campaign efforts. But, within 48 hours, McConnell was announcing he would retire from the leadership role after the election.
"Make no mistake about this," McCaskill explained. "This is a very strategic announcement because he is trying to gain the majority and trying to navigate the Trump problem, and to do that, he needs to husband the forces within his caucus to keep a pro-Trump extremist from becoming the leader if the Republicans take the senate in November.
"So, he is trying to accomplish two or three things at once by announcing it the way he has and when he has."
McCaskill also described McConnell as a kind of "LBJ-type leader," citing Lyndon Baines Johnson, not in terms of politics but in management.
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"In other words, he knows how to count votes," she said. "He knows how to leverage members. He knows how to gain power. In fact, he would consider it a compliment that I would say that his career has been about leveraging power, whether it is decimating campaign finance laws or changing every norm about the nomination of a Supreme Court justice.
She noted that Republicans have an opportunity to take back the Senate with seats open in Maryland and races in Montana and Ohio. She said McConnell has had a successful recruiting effort for the 2024 races.
The conversation then turned to the question of what Donald Trump would gain by having McConnell, one of the least popular Republicans in office, endorse him for president.
See the clip of the discussion below or at the link here.
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