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Former President Donald Trump hit back Tuesday against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, issuing a scathing statement after McConnell ran an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal blaming him for the Jan.6 riot on the U.S. Capitol.
“The Republican Party can never again be respected or strong with political ‘leaders’ like Senator Mitch McConnell at its head,” Trump said in a written statement. “McConnell’s attachment to the politics of the status quo, the status quo, as well as his lack of political insight, wisdom, skill and personality, quickly led him from majority leader to minority leader, and this will only get worse.
The Senate voted Saturday to acquit Trump of the charge of “inciting insurgency” in connection with the Capitol siege that followed the then president’s Jan.6 rally in Washington. Although McConnell did not join the seven Republicans who voted to condemn Trump, he published a dazzling assessment of the ex-president’s behavior in a speech in the Senate and published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on Monday that dismissed the fault. violence at Trump’s feet.
“There is no doubt that former President Trump bears moral responsibility. His supporters stormed the Capitol over the deranged lies he shouted into the world’s largest megaphone, ”McConnell wrote. “His behavior during and after the chaos was also unacceptable, whether it was attacking Vice President Mike Pence during the riot or praising the criminals after the end.
In response, Trump, whose acquittal allows him to legally pursue a return to the White House in 2024, appeared to appreciate the opportunity to tear McConnell apart.
“Democrats and Chuck Schumer play McConnell like a fiddle – they’ve never had it so well – and they want it to continue!” We know our America First program is a winner, not McConnell’s Beltway First program or Biden’s America Last program, ”Trump said in his statement, adding,“ Mitch is a stark, brooding, smileless political hack, and if the Republican senators are going to stay with him, they will not win any more. He will never do what needs to be done or what is right for our country. “
Trump also sued McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, his own former transportation secretary, suggesting the family business presented a conflict of interest.
“Likewise, McConnell has no credibility on China because of his family’s large Chinese business holdings. He’s doing nothing in the face of this huge economic and military threat, ”Trump said in the statement without specifying why, given these circumstances, he appointed her to his cabinet in the first place.
Chao resigned her post two days after the Capitol riot, which she called “completely preventable.”
Since being misrepresented on social media, Trump has not engaged in the rapid reaction attacks that characterize his four years in office. Yet Republican polls show he remains his party’s most popular leader and, if he decides to run for president again, could prove to be a formidable candidate. Fifty-nine percent of Republican voters say they want Trump to continue to play a “major role” in the GOP, according to a Morning Consult poll released Tuesday, and 54 percent said they would support him if he runs as president in 2024.
In his statement on Tuesday, Trump signaled his intention to advance candidates who support his America First agenda.
“When necessary and appropriate, I will support the main rivals who espouse Making America Great Again and our America First policy,” Trump said. “We want bright, strong, thoughtful and compassionate leadership. Before the pandemic, we produced the most savings and jobs in our country’s history, and likewise, our economic recovery from Covid was the best in the world. “
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