Sen. Mitch McConnell on Wednesday endorsed former President Donald Trump for election in 2024, setting aside a years-long feud over Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The outgoing Senate GOP leader, who famously called Trump “morally and practically responsible” for the violent attack on the Capitol, said in a statement that it was time for Republicans to unite behind the party’s presumptive nominee.
“Trump has earned the requisite support of Republican voters to be our nominee for President of the United States,” McConnell said in a statement. “It should come as no surprise that as nominee, he will have my support.”
McConnell’s announcement came after Nikki Haley suspended her campaign the day after Trump won a sweeping victory in the Super Tuesday primaries.
McConnell, 82, last week announced he will step down as Republican Senate leader after the fall elections.
“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.
He bragged about working with Trump during his first term in the White House, especially in remaking the federal judiciary and installing three conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices.
McConnell did not mention Trump’s effort to overturn his loss in the 2020 election, an effort that culminated with the violent Jan. 6 attack by a mob of Trump supporters.
McConnell harshly denounced Trump for engineering what he called an attack on American democracy and the Constitution.
But the iconic leader of the GOP establishment opposed Trump’s impeachment over his incitement of the attack. He effectively blocked Trump’s conviction in the Senate, a decision that opened the door to Trump’s dramatic political comeback.
Trump has viciously derided McConnell for years, branding him an “old crow,” a Republican in name only and worse.
The former president also used anti-Asian nicknames to abuse McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, who served as his own transportation secretary but quit after Jan. 6.
After nearly two decades as GOP Senate leader, McConnell says he will step down when the new Congress begins next January.
His two top lieutenants are vying for his spot but Trump may seek to handpick a more pliant acolyte to the powerful position.
McConnell has said he will serve out the remainder of his term, which runs through the 2026 elections. But some predict he will retire sooner.
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