(AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell voiced his concerns over the transformation of the Republican Party under former President Donald Trump, suggesting that the party’s current state would be unrecognizable to Ronald Reagan, affectionately known as “The Gipper.” In an interview with The Associated Press, McConnell lamented the direction the GOP has taken and criticized Trump’s influence, accusing him of appealing to the party’s base by giving “less successful” people an excuse for their circumstances by claiming they were “cheated.”
McConnell, reflecting on the upcoming biography The Price of Power by Michael Tackett, deputy Washington bureau chief of The Associated Press, did not mince words about the damage he believes Trump has done to the Republican Party. “I think Trump was the biggest factor in changing the Republican Party from what Ronald Reagan viewed and he wouldn’t recognize today,” McConnell told AP, as cited by CNN.
McConnell also criticized Trump for harming the party’s image and weakening its ability to compete effectively. “Trump is appealing to people who haven’t been as successful as other people and providing an excuse for that, that these more successful people have somehow been cheated, and you don’t deserve to think of yourself as less successful because things haven’t been fair,” McConnell explained.
The Senate Minority Leader didn’t hold back in addressing Trump’s behavior following his loss in the 2020 presidential election to President Joe Biden, calling Trump “erratic” in the aftermath. Despite Trump’s continuous denial of his defeat, McConnell pointed out that, unfortunately, a significant portion of the GOP remains loyal to the former president’s claims. “About half of the country’s Republicans believe whatever he says,” McConnell remarked.
While reflecting on Trump’s departure from office on January 20, 2021, McConnell suggested that many Republicans were quietly relieved to see Trump leave. He even hinted that he had considered voting to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial, though he ultimately voted to acquit.
McConnell also shared his views on the January 6 Capitol riot, acknowledging the impact of Trump’s rhetoric in bringing protesters to Washington. “I don’t know whether you can make a conclusive argument that he’s directly responsible for them storming the Capitol, but I think it’s not in dispute that those folks would not have been here in the first place if he had not asked them to come and to disrupt the actual acceptance of the outcome of the election,” McConnell said.
These candid remarks come as McConnell continues to distance himself from Trump’s influence while grappling with the ongoing divisions within the Republican Party. With the 2024 elections looming, the Kentucky senator’s critique underscores the tensions between Trump’s brand of politics and the traditional GOP values once championed by figures like Ronald Reagan.
