GOP senator compares Mitch McConnell to his dog whom he sometimes wants to 'kick'

WASHINGTON — Sen. Thom Tillis Thursday compared Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to his dog whom he sometimes wants to hug and other times wants to kick.

Tillis (R-NC) fielded questions Thursday about McConnell’s potentially weakened position in the Senate after his months-long effort to pass a bipartisan package to fund border protection and foreign aid failed its initial vote.

“I reject the narrative that somehow his position is at risk,” Tillis said. “This is just another drama that he’s finds himself in.”

Tillis argued McConnell, much like the 5-year-old Cockapoo he likes to dress up for Halloween, was simply an evocative presence.

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“Little Mitch evokes the same emotions that Big Mitch does from time to time,” Tillis said. “Most of the time I want to hug him but every once in a while I want to kick him.”

He added, “There’s a reason I named a dog after Mitch.”

Despite reports that McConnell, 81, could be vulnerable to attack from the right over his efforts to work with Democrats on the failed $118 billion border bill that would also have sent aid to Israel and Ukraine, Tillis argued his Senate leader was in a good place.

“It’s not a bad day for Mitch, either one of them,” Tills said. “Little Mitch was a little mischievous yesterday, but Big Mitch is doing just fine.”