Aiexpress – After Donald Trump’s victory in New Hampshire, Senator John Cornyn made a surprising move by expressing his support for him. This is significant because Cornyn is not typically aligned with Trump’s ideology. In fact, the Texas Republican, known for his strong jawline, previously collaborated with Democratic Senator Chris Murphy and then-Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema on a gun bill that Trump strongly disagreed with. Cornyn’s current endorsement indicates that Republicans across the spectrum, from the far-right to the more centrist, are now aligning themselves with the former president.
Trump’s ability to rally support from Republican leaders remains strong, with one notable exception: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The dynamic between Trump and McConnell has been extensively documented. Together, they successfully confirmed numerous judges, including three Supreme Court justices who ultimately overturned Roe v Wade. While their attempt to repeal Obamacare fell short, they did manage to collaborate on the passage of significant tax cuts.
Their relationship came to an irreparable end following the January 6 insurrection. Elaine Chao, McConnell’s wife, made the decision to resign from her position as Secretary of Transportation in the Trump administration. She took this step after witnessing the violent attempts made by rioters to breach her husband’s office.
Despite their apparent dislike for each other, with Trump even resorting to calling McConnell “Old Crow,” it is undeniable that McConnell’s choice to not convict Trump played a significant role in Trump’s resurgence within the Republican Party.
Despite his apparent reluctance to discuss the former president, it may come as a surprise that McConnell is not as subservient to Trump as some might assume. Unlike former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who went to Mar-a-Lago during Trump’s impeachment trial, McConnell’s loyalty is not as overt. Similarly, unlike Speaker Mike Johnson, McConnell did not actively spearhead legal endeavors to overturn the 2020 election results, but instead voted to certify its outcome.
Biden and he served together in the Senate for 28 years, which has fostered a much warmer relationship between them.
McConnell continues to be influenced by the right-wing faction of his party. Like other Republican leaders, he was deeply concerned about the impact of the Tea Party movement in the 2010s, which could be compared to the epic “Iliad” in relation to the “Odyssey” of the MAGA movement. McConnell witnessed the nomination of far-right candidates and the loss of winnable races in 2010 and 2012, which delayed his chances of becoming Majority Leader until 2015. In fact, his criticism of these candidates was so severe that he was considered a “RINO” (Republican in Name Only) by his own colleagues for quite some time.
When McConnell blocked Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, it was a turning point for his acceptance among his GOP colleagues. They realized that his opposition to the far right was not driven by ideology, but rather by his strategic focus on winning elections. The move to block Garland not only cemented McConnell’s reputation as a ruthless tactician and enforcer, but it also played a crucial role in Donald Trump’s rise to the presidency.
If McConnell had decided to act on his anger towards Trump after January 6, he could have potentially convinced establishment Republicans like Cornyn to join him in expressing their lack of trust in Trump. It is reasonable to assume that he could have gathered the additional 10 votes required to prevent Trump from running for president again. However, this would have only represented a minority of Senate Republicans, and he would have likely faced a similar backlash to Liz Cheney in the House.
He argued that Trump’s remarks prior to the January 6 riot did not meet the legal definition of “incitement” and emphasized that “former President Trump cannot be convicted under the Constitution.”
McConnell made his personal feelings clear when he offered a message on how to handle Trump. He emphasized that in this country, we have a criminal justice system and civil litigation, and former presidents are not exempt from being held accountable by either one.
Mitch McConnell expressed his hope that district attorneys, the US Department of Justice, and the court system would take legal action against Trump for his actions on January 6. However, like many of Trump’s opponents, McConnell made the mistake of assuming that Trump would simply fade away on his own.
According to polls, Trump experienced a significant increase in support following his initial indictment in Manhattan. Likewise, he saw a similar consolidation of support after his first federal indictment in June.
McConnell’s likely intention was to avoid causing conflict within his party by abstaining from voting to convict Trump. His strategy was to maintain a united front so that he could concentrate on opposing Biden’s domestic policies and criticizing him during the upcoming midterm elections. However, this short-sighted approach ended up giving Trump the opportunity to regroup and come back stronger than before.
In the past few months, McConnell, an octogenarian, has been focusing on establishing himself as a statesman, collaborating with Biden on various issues such as infrastructure and backing Ukraine. However, all of these efforts may be in vain if he fails to take action and inadvertently paves the way for another Trump presidency, a scenario he likely wanted to avoid.
If Trump were to return to the White House, it could potentially lead to the complete dismantling of the Senate Republican conference, which McConnell worked tirelessly to build over the course of many years. This outcome would be largely attributed to McConnell’s own actions and decisions.
