There are many things Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell dislikes, including liberal judges and rules against mega-donors buying elections. But if there’s one thing that annoys McConnell most, it just might be answering questions about Donald Trump.
More than two years without the latter in the White House hasn't changed that:
At his weekly leadership presser on Tuesday, McConnell avoided two questions about Trump’s indictment with the same dodge. “I simply … am not gonna start commenting on the various candidates we have running for president,” he told NBC News’s Sahil Kapur.
“There are a lot of ’em, it’s gonna be interesting to watch, and I look forward to seeing your coverage,” he added, before ending the press conference.
McConnell and Trump’s relationship was famously rocky during the latter’s presidency. Even though the pair were responsible for completing the conservative takeover of the Supreme Court and McConnell’s wife Elaine Chao served in Trump’s Cabinet, the Trump administration struggled to pass significant legislation.
The fallout from the 2020 election, including Chao’s resignation after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, sealed the mutual dislike. The Kentucky senator even said Trump was “practically and morally responsible for provoking” the Jan. 6 attack.
But, of course, McConnell voted to acquit Trump anyway. And it’s exactly because of that sort of cowardice that he’s stuck facing questions about Trump yet again.
Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Blog newsletter for weekly updates on the top legal stories, including news from the Supreme Court, the Donald Trump investigations and more.