Trump told Mitch McConnell about his coup to flip election results in Georgia, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, but McConnell stayed silent.
In the weeks after he lost the 2020 election, then-President Donald Trump had a plan to stay in office — and he wanted Mitch McConnell to know about it.
If Trump could successfully pressure Republican Gov. Brian Kemp to de-certify Biden’s narrow win in Georgia, that would lead to a domino effect: Officials in Pennsylvania and Michigan would follow suit and overturn Biden’s electoral victory, Trump believed, a stunning reversal that could keep him in the White House for a second term.
And Trump was certain he could subvert the election outcome, telling McConnell, then the Senate majority leader, and other top Republicans that he had personally been on the phone with officials in Pennsylvania and Michigan — and they told him they would move to keep him in power, despite the results showing Biden had won their states.
The new book from Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns reports that McConnell knew about the plot but stayed silent because he didn’t want Trump to sabotage the Georgia Senate runoff elections. (Trump sabotaged the Georgia runoff elections anyway because that is what Donald Trump does).
Mitch McConnell knew about the coup plot, and he did nothing because keeping Trump in power would benefit him and hopefully give him the Senate majority.
McConnell has betrayed his country on too many occasions to count, but his most telling betrayal might be his decision not to try and stop Trump. If McConnell had spoken up, 1/6 might have been prevented. The Big Lie would not have taken hold, and lives would have been saved.
Mitch McConnell said nothing, and his silence enabled Trump to attack democracy.
Mr. Easley is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
