Former President Donald Trump once again slammed Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, the Senate’s minority leader, calling the top Republican a ‘dumb son of a nb —-‘ and a ‘cold loser’ amid a long rush against a Republican donor event Saturday night in which he also repeated his false allegations of election victory last fall.
Trump, according to a source familiar with his remarks, said “a true leader” would never have accepted the election results. That story, which Trump spun for months after losing last fall, led to the deadly uprising at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and his second indictment shortly thereafter.
Rioters inside the Capitol could be heard in one video erecting ‘hanging Mike Pence’ and a gallows erected outside the building. Trump also said on Saturday that he was “disappointed” that his former vice president had confirmed the votes of the Electoral College.
‘If it were [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] “Schumer, instead of this dumb son of a nb —- Mitch McConnell, would never let that happen,” Trump said. They would have fought it. ‘
After the indictment, McConnell got Trump excited about his behavior, though he did not vote to convict him. Shortly afterwards, Trump issued a lengthy statement in which he described McConnell as “a dull, grumpy and shameless political heel.”
Days later, McConnell said he would support Trump as president if he were the 2024 GOP nominee. At about the same time, Trump began endorsing GOP senators who criticized his actions around the riot, such as Sens Jerry Moran, R-Kan., And John Boozman, R-Ark., For re-election.
Trump addressed the crowd of Republican donors for about an hour at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. His speech was the only part of the Republican National Committee’s donor retreat that took place there as other events were held during the Four Seasons in Palm Beach. Last month, Trump’s lawyers asked the RNC, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee to stop using his name and parable to raise money, as he pressured donors to give directly to his committee.
Trump on Saturday also mocked former Transport Secretary Elaine Chao, who resigned from his government after the riot and married McConnell. ‘
“I hired his wife. Did he ever say thank you? ‘ Trump said, adding sarcastically about her decision to resign after Jan. 6: “She got so heavy.”
While attacking McConnell and other Republicans in his speech, especially those who voted against him in the most recent indictment, Trump also called for party unity.
Trump said he was “so disappointed” with Pence because he confirmed President Joe Biden’s victory, “I like him so much.”
He praised the participants in his “Save America” march on January 6 – which preceded the riot in Capitol.
The former president addressed the pandemic, saying he did not get enough credit for his government overseeing the development of the vaccines, and suggested that it be called the “Trumpcine”.
He repeats his long-standing mockery of dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, for his erratic opening hours during a Washington Nationals game last summer and for his pandemic analysis and advice, saying Fauci is’ so full of shit. ‘
Representatives of Trump, Pence and McConnell did not immediately return requests for comment from NBC News.
Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., Said Trump used the same language he knows provoked violence on January 6.
“As a party, we need to be focused on the future. We need to be focused on embracing the Constitution, not accepting revolt,” Cheney said. He was one of ten House Republicans who voted to accuse Trump of his actions around the riot. .
“And I think it’s very important for people to realize that a fundamental part of the Constitution and who we are as Americans is the rule of law. That’s the legal procedure,” she continued. “The election was not stolen. There was a lawsuit. If you attack the judicial process and attack the rule of law, you are not defending the Constitution, you are in a war with the Constitution. ‘
John Thune, RS.D., on Trump’s remarks about McConnell, told Fox News Sunday he believes “much of the rhetoric is part of the style and tone that the former president brings.”
“But I think he and Mitch McConnell have a common goal,” said Thune, the Senate’s second highest Republican. “And that means getting the majority back in 2022 and hopefully that will eventually be the thing that unites us.”
Asa Hutchinson, a Republican who paralyzed Trump last week after enacting anti-transgender health care legislation, said on CNN’s ‘State of the Union’. and is not useful to us who are waging the battles in Washington and at the state level. ‘
“In some ways, it’s not a big deal, he said,” Hutchinson added. “But at the same time, when we get attention, we do not need it. We need unity. We need to be focused together. We have slim majorities – or slim numbers in Washington, and we have fights to fight. So, we need go beyond that. ‘