Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) endorsed Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign on Wednesday after it became clear he would soon win the amount of delegates needed to become the GOP’s presidential nominee.
“It is abundantly clear that former President Trump has earned the requisite support of Republican voters to be our nominee for President of the United States. It should come as no surprise that as nominee, he will have my support,” McConnell said in a statement that was first reported by The Washington Post.
In the statement, McConnell cited the passage of the 2017 tax cut bill and their confirmation of hundreds of conservative judges, including on the Supreme Court, as areas as highlights of their tenure in office.
“I look forward to the opportunity of switching from playing defense against the terrible policies the Biden administration has pursued to a sustained offense geared towards making a real difference in improving the lives of the American people,” McConnell said.
The Kentucky Republican slammed Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, faulting him for inciting the violent riot and saying that he was guilty of a “disgraceful dereliction of duty” for doing nothing to aid Congress. Trump, in turn, hurled racist attacks against McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, and scuttled the Ukraine aid package McConnell said was urgent to stand up to Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
But with Nikki Haley dropping out of the 2024 race, Republicans are looking to unite ahead of the November election. McConnell’s top priority ― some would say his guiding light ― is winning control of the Senate chamber at all costs, and disunity with the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee would harm that effort.
Asked by reporters on Capitol Hill how he reconciled his endorsement of Trump on Wednesday with his earlier rebuke of the former president, McConnell suggested no one should be surprised by his decision.
“On Feb. 25, 2021, shortly after the attack on the Capitol, I was asked a similar question, and I said I would support the nominee for president even if it was the former president,” McConnell said, referring to a Fox News interview less than two months after the Jan. 6 attack.
Trump, who often derided McConnell as “Old Crow,” responded to the senator with a gracious-sounding note on his social media platform.
“Thank you, Mitch. I look forward to working with you and a Republican Senate MAJORITY to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he said in the post on Truth Social.
McConnell announced recently he would be stepping down as party leader in November after nearly two decades in the post, further cementing Trump’s takeover of the Republican Party. His replacement is likely to be far more aligned with Trump and his agenda.