Just hours after former President Trump called Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) a “dumb son of a bitch” Trump was … awarded for it?
In an email on Monday morning, the National Republican Senatorial Committee announced that its chairman, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), presented Trump with its first-ever “Champion for Freedom Award.” The NRSC said that the award is given to conservative leaders who work “tirelessly” to “stop the Democrats’ socialist agenda.”
Scott also issued a glowing review of the former president in a statement included in the NRSC’s press release, saying that the NRSC is “grateful for his service” after supposedly proving that he is a “champion for all Americans.”
Apparently Trump’s ongoing grudge against McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate, is an exception for the NRSC.
Trump was handed the award on the same weekend that he rambled on about his usual grievances at the RNC’s spring donor retreat while delivering remarks at his Mar-a-Lago resort. The former president, however, reportedly saved his most incendiary insults for McConnell, who he derided as a “dumb son of a bitch” for not opposing the November election results. McConnell initially scolded Trump on the Senate floor for inciting the mob behind the Capitol insurrection on the day of the joint session of Congress certifying Joe Biden’s presidential win.
“If that were [Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer] instead of this dumb son of a bitch Mitch McConnell they would never allow it to happen. They would have fought it,” Trump said, referring to the certification of Biden’s Electoral College victory, according to the Washington Post.
Additionally, the former president reportedly spouted more falsehoods of widespread fraud during the presidential election, complained about former Vice President Mike Pence and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) for refusing to overturn the election results, and mocked Dr. Anthony Fauci for his dire warnings on COVID-19 that the then-president repeatedly downplayed.
Much like McConnell, who tried to get back into the former president’s good graces by telling Fox News that he would “absolutely” back a potential Trump presidential run in 2024, Scott extended an olive branch to Trump as he warred with the GOP’s traditional fundraising arm last month.
Following a series of confusing events after Trump lawyers sent cease-and-desist letters to the NRSC, RNC and the National Republican Congressional Committee to stop using his name and likeness in their fundraising efforts, Scott was deployed by the NRSC to head to Mar-a-Lago to make nice with the former president. Trump and the NRSC chairman reportedly discussed how they could team up and find suitable candidates for the 2022 midterms that the former president could get behind, including incumbents.
The next day, Scott bragged about his “great meeting” with Trump in a tweet:
Great meeting with President Trump last night!
We are all focused on winning back the Senate majority in 2022 and saving our country from the radical policies of today’s Democrat Party. pic.twitter.com/PUclZWXsCx
— Rick Scott (@ScottforFlorida) March 12, 2021
