President Donald Trump lashed out against Senate Majority Leader Mitch (R-KY) for finally acknowledging Joe Biden’s clear electoral win. Trump sent a slide to Republican lawmakers that suggested the President had saved McConnell’s political career by endorsing him earlier this year
“Sadly, Mitch forgot,” the slide, which was sent out by Trump’s personal assistant on Monday and obtained by Axios, reads. “He was the first one off the ship.”
The slide includes polling data that appeared to show McConnell in a dead heat against Democratic challenger Amy McGrath ahead of the Nov. 3 election until Trump offered his endorsement.
McConnell handily beat McGrath by nearly 20 points in last month’s election, despite her well-financed $94 million fundraising effort to unseat him.
Trump’s latest effort to trash a top member of his party reflects an increasingly desperate effort to alienate any GOP lawmaker who shows a commitment to carrying out the traditions of democracy which delivered a win to his opponent, President-elect Biden.
Trump’s slide points to polling that depicted a very tight race in Kentucky until Trump tweeted his endorsement of the Senate leader on June 19.
The slide again shows polling tightening to 51%-40% before Trump delivered an Oct. 31 robocall in support of McConnell.
Although McConnell easily won over McGrath for his 7th term, the slide plays into an enduring perception that in the wake of Trump’s White House departure, he will continue to hold sway over the election campaigns of Republican lawmakers in 2022 and beyond.
The unprecedented move comes weeks before the all-important Georgia runoff elections where Trump loyalists Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler have vowed their continued support of the president and have turned on GOP officials in their own state in efforts they hope will boost their prospects of holding onto seats that will determine which party holds Senate majority.
