Trump has been indefatigably dividing the Republican party since he came down the escalator, making it ever narrower, though ever more extreme and dangerous, too. It was inevitable that McConnell and Trump ended up in a shooting war as it has of late.
Just last week, McConnell quietly took a shot across Trump’s bow by noting that maybe the GOP wouldn’t retake the Senate because “the quality of the candidate matters,” a not very subtle arrow directed at Trump and his endorsements (Walker, Oz, Vance, Masters) which could cost McConnell and the Republicans the Senate. Sean Hannity did Trump’s dirty work in saying that Mitch had to go:
“Democrats are painting Republican Senate candidates in upcoming elections and midterms as cruel and out of touch.”
Yes, but they are, in fact, cruel and out of touch. Anyway, go on:
“Well, apparently Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is content to leave them out to dry and fend for themselves.
“You don’t hear Schumer complaining about candidate quality in Pennsylvania. How about you get out there, Mitch, and fight for your team? What’s your agenda, Mitch?
Never appearing in a picture with Mehmet Oz?
“Or would you rather just sit by and watch helplessly as Democrats lie to your face and pass another $500 billion green energy boondoggle?
Do you mean the one they passed because they were handed two blue Senators from Georgia, compliments of Trump?
“His time as a leader needs to come to an end.”
Yes, well, his time as majority leader certainly has ended, and he will, hopefully, continue to be in the minority post-2022. But Mitch’s time as leader of the Republican Senate is not over. Trump may be able to boss a lot of MAGA Senators around, but when it comes to voting for their own leadership, not many of them are going to let Trump have a say. No other GOP Senator is willing to be as shameless as Mitch. Only Mitch could do the SCOTUS trick he did, and the entire GOP Senate knows it.
And that’s what’s so great about all this. Trump has effectively taken what should’ve been a fairly easy GOP pick-up to a Senate that is now looking susceptible to a blue wave, Georgia, PA, Ohio, Arizona, Rubio losing in Florida by 4 (right now), and North Carolina. It is starting to look like there is a path to making Manchin and Sinema the two least important senators in the nation, all thanks to Donald Trump, both his endorsements and his constant reminders that there’s a reason the nation wants “MAGA” gone.
Good luck, Sean. Mitch will be in town far longer than Trump. (Or God help us all).
Hannity is blaming McConnell for Pennsylvania. Worth mentioning how much Hannity has propped up Oz throughout the campaign pic.twitter.com/HA18Q7YKwU
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 20, 2022
@JasonMiciak believes a day without learning is a day not lived. He is a political writer, features writer, author, and attorney. He is a Canadian-born dual citizen who spent his teen and college years in the Pacific Northwest and has since lived in seven states. He now enjoys life as a single dad of a young girl, writing from the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He loves crafting his flower pots, cooking, and currently studies philosophy of science, religion, and non-math principles behind quantum mechanics and cosmology. Please feel free to contact for speaking engagements or any concerns.
