Trump Says Republicans 'Need Better Leadership Than Mitch McConnell'
Former President Donald Trump said in a new interview that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is “hanging by a thread.”
“If you look at what had happened with the election, Mitch McConnell should have fought,” Trump said on “The Truth with Lisa Boothe” podcast. “He did nothing. He should have fought.”
“They would have fought,” he said, referring to Democrats.
“That could never have happened to a Democrat, what happened to us with the presidential election,” Trump said. “It could never have happened to the Democrats. You would have had a revolution … if the tables were turned. You would have literally had a revolution,” Trump said.
“Guys like Mitch McConnell, they don’t fight,” Trump said. “And now he’s hanging by a thread; he’s hanging by a thread.”
When Boothe asked if he spoke to McConnell, Trump replied, “I don’t really want to talk to him.”
“Look, he’s hanging by a thread right now with respect to the filibuster. And if they get the filibuster, he’s hanging on Joe Manchin, who always goes with the Democrats,” Trump said, speaking of the West Virginia Democratic senator. “Joe talks, but he ends up going with the Democrats.”
“If they get the filibuster, if they knock it out, it will be catastrophic for the Republican Party,” Trump said.
Trump said that there was the possibility of a parliamentary gambit to block attempts to kill the filibuster by having GOP senators refuse to attend Senate sessions.
He said if the filibuster falls, attacks on the Second Amendment will not be far behind. Trump touched on the subject of upcoming Senate races, saying Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is “bad news” and “little Ben Sasse” of Nebraska is a “disaster.”
Asked about the GOP’s future, Trump replied “We have a lot of young, good people. [Florida Gov.] Ron DeSantis is doing a really good job in Florida. I think [Missouri Sen.] Josh Hawley has shown some real courage in going after big tech.”
“And you know somebody that’s been really terrific is Ted Cruz,” he said, recalling the time the two were at odds in 2016 over the GOP presidential nomination.
“And [Kentucky Sen.] Rand Paul has been great. A lot of people, I mean, really a lot of people have been terrific. Sarah Huckabee is going to do great in Arkansas. I think that [South Dakota Gov.] Kristi Noem has done a terrific job. A lot of — a lot of very good people, really very good people. The Republican Party is stacked.”
But there is a hole, Trump said.
“I think we need better leadership than Mitch McConnell and stronger leadership,” Trump said.
“I mean, he can’t rein in his own people. We have the Mitt Romneys of the world and, you know, the Ben Sasses of the world. These are not good for the Republican Party,” he said.
“You’ve got to be able to rein them in,” Trump said. “So we need better than Mitch McConnell.”
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